Itachi's Resolution
by KatMaxKu
Summary: What ultimately helped Itachi come to a decision regarding the demise of the Uchiha clan. Pre-Konoha Senju and Uchiha OCs. An unlikely romance between two enemies.
1. Prologue

I am intending this to be a multi-chapter fic; I'm shooting for around five, but if I exceed that then certainly less than ten.

I posted this in the 'supernatural' genre but most of the story is not written with that element involved. At the end of the prologue you will understand why.

The prologue takes place pre-massacre. The rest of the story takes place pre-Konoha.

There will be explicit sexual situations, violence and language.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

As his last official mission as a jounin, Uchiha Itachi hadn't expected the Sandaime to send him on what seemed to be a wild goose chase.

After this mission was completed, he was scheduled to join the Konoha ANBU ranks. It wasn't a group that Itachi particularly wanted to become a part of, but his clan had pressured and pushed him into making it his goal to be accepted. Considering Itachi's status as one of the most prodigious shinobi in his current generation of ninja, everyone knew he was pretty much a shoo-in, even if he wasn't personally setting out on joining. His clan was proud, but not for reasons one would think for advancing so far up the ninja ladder. This was all going according to their meticulously developed plans. This seemingly innocuous and even ostensibly beneficial move made by the Sandaime was just one more step in securing the position that the Uchiha clan were working hard to attain: village takeover.

It wasn't until recently that his father and clan council informed him of all their scheming, undermining of the Hokage, and devastating intentions. Itachi could only attach extremely negative connotations on his clan's actions because he was very much against what was going to occur.

The truth was, he was resentful of his status of genius shinobi because it carried the heavy burden of certain expectations from his clan. If he was given the choice between being a shinobi or living a civilian life, naturally he would choose safeguarding his village by way of the ninja, but because of his position as Uchiha clan heir there wasn't a choice, his own personal preferences of how to conduct his life taken completely out of his hands for the sake of a horrible cause. Itachi knew that it was easy for a person to love what they are when it comes naturally to them – like him being an inherent phenomenon of shinobi wonder – but already, as a twelve-year-old, he was world-weary and jaded from his life as a ninja, demurring his status and the preconceived notions it brought on. He had already been through one world war. He had seen countless shinobi and civilians die at a very young age. He witnessed the near-destruction of his home from the kyuubi attack. It was a hard life, and again, if he was given the choice he could take on his position with pride for his village, but there was no choice. Now, there were only clan lectures of Konoha's betrayal and plans to fight for what they deemed as rightfully theirs.

How was Itachi to deal with this? They were his family, after all, but everything in his being wanted to stop them from obtaining their evil objective. There was no way only he, himself, could go against his clan. He wondered what the possibilities would be if he openly displayed his disapproval. Knowing his father and knowing that he knew his father claimed they needed Itachi, Fugaku would find a way to neutralize him. The rest of the clan – even the elders – would probably do away with him permanently to ensure silence. Itachi thought about discussing this with Shisui, but knew that was definitely futile. Shisui would readily agree that Itachi possibly exposing the Uchiha and making them vulnerable was not something that could be risked and would agree Itachi needed to be killed. Shisui might be Itachi's closest friend, but Itachi knew the clan was the most important thing to him and killing Itachi would be a small sacrifice to guarantee the continuation of the Uchiha. His mother would more than likely go along with anything his father proposed, and Sasuke...

Sasuke was still so young and completely unaware of what went on in the late-night Uchiha assemblies and what the hushed words behind closed doors were about.

Inevitably, if all the Uchiha plans would be meted out successfully, his younger brother would then have to endure the harsh realities of being a shinobi in war, but in a different respect. Itachi had been through war against other countries, but Sasuke's battle would be right in his home, against his own comrades. To Itachi, that was hundreds of times worse than what he had experienced, but what really had Itachi's stomach turning violently with anxiety was the possibility that Sasuke wouldn't survive the subsequent battles the rest of the Konoha Shinobi would start up, attempting to win their village back. The thought of losing Sasuke to something ludicrous like a coup d'etat was unfathomable. Sasuke was his precious little brother, and no victory his clan could gain would be worth even _risking_ Sasuke's life.

However, no matter how many nights Itachi stayed awake, desperately seeking a way out of this, to stop the plans of his clan, for there to be peace between his family and Konoha, it was all still going to happen and there was really little he could do to stop it. So, with a detached sort of participation he included himself in the plot, but when he was told he had made it into ANBU, something inside of him had snapped, and he could no longer go along with carrying out the deed of an Uchiha takeover. They had to be stopped. But how?

Itachi did thorough research and sought the opinions and facts from other ANBU so he could feel fully prepared once he officially donned the porcelain mask as a black op. His studies at the academy gave a vague, generic layout of what the duties of a special operative in Konoha consisted of, but even then Itachi knew it was only because many of the assignments ANBU conducted were to remain classified because much of what occurred was too incorrigible to write in textbooks children five years-old would be reading.

Part of this knowledge made Itachi apprehensive. He understood a black op was directed to carry out assassinations...something Itachi was not comfortable with. If at all possible, as much as a shinobi can manage, Itachi preferred to avoid any confrontation with an enemy that would require a fight to the death. Itachi actually despised fighting, vehemently abhorred killing for the sake of killing. Of course, no matter what side a shinobi is on, they would all claim there is always a reason to fight and kill; love, power, money, vengeance...

This reality, coupled with his immanent shinobi prowess, caused shinobihood to make too many hits to Itachi's integrity.

He always thought things happened for a reason: there was a reason why he was born, a reason why he was given the gifts he had, a reason why he was an Uchiha, a reason why he was born in the Leaf...he still had to discover his reason for living on the cusp of what history could possibly consider the largest devastation his home will ever experience. What was the purpose of all of his achievements that led him to becoming an ANBU at twelve? It was unheard of but Itachi felt absolutely no joy or accomplishment in it.

Itachi was not one to bemoan his lot in life but make use of it as efficiently as he knew how. Becoming an ANBU meant he could be extremely useful to Konoha and the Hokage in more ways than just the typical ANBU missions. Infiltration, surveillance, and espionage are all the essential components of what ANBU does on a mission. If Itachi wasn't an expert in all three he wouldn't have made it to the black ops, but what the Uchiha didn't know was how Itachi would be combining all of the necessary constituents of an ANBU mission right in his own backyard. He would be serving as a spy for Konoha. His objective: to relay to Konoha as much information as can be acquired about the plans of the coup d'etat.

But for now, as Itachi traveled at blinding speed with chakra-enhanced footfalls through the forests bordering Fire Country and Yu no Kuni, his current objective was to attain a scroll of veritable value for the Fire Daimyo. It had been stolen from within the Daimyo's compound and Itachi was tasked with finding the perpetrator, dealing with him, and delivering the scroll to its owner. As an ANBU, Itachi knew the thief would have to be assassinated. As a jounin, he was going to use his sharingan to erase the person's mind of their endeavor and the intent of wanting to steal the scroll altogether. No bloodshed. That was how Itachi preferred it.

Itachi had been traveling nonstop since he left Konoha, and that was over twelve hours ago. He jumped to the next tree and decided to take a short break. He knew he was not far from the border, the last place the bandit was estimated to have reached in their hurried excursion to escape, but since his location was undetermined it was Itachi's responsibility to find him. He sat down on a branch, leaned back against the tree and drank from his canteen. Through the canopy of trees he took in the moon's appearance. It was late morning when he departed from Konoha. It was probably nearing midnight. He wasn't particularly hungry, but decided to snack on a fig bar. He didn't know whom he was going to come upon and needed all of his strength in preparation for when that time came.

As much as he knew he should focus one-hundred percent on the mission, his subconscious still involuntary wandered to the concerns surrounding his home and family. No matter what course of action and outcome, someone was going to get hurt and many shinobi, innocent or not, will die. Itachi sighed heavily, bringing a weary hand to his forehead to wipe at the nonexistent perspiration at his brow. He and the Hokage had sat and discussed this for hours with no ideal solution.

It happened quickly, making Itachi question if it even happened at all, but he felt it: the unmistakable aura of a chakra signature. Someone was near enough for him to sense it, but then it disappeared just like that. Silently, Itachi slipped his pack off his shoulders and set it on the branch. He unclasped his weapons holster and removed a kunai before stealthily dropping to the ground. He moved furtively along the forest floor in the direction of the chakra he felt. The hushed sounds of the forest were eerie, like a bad omen, leaving Itachi with a foreboding feeling in his gut. Distantly he registered the hooting of an owl, but more distinctly the gentle brushing of the leaves of the trees from the slight breeze. No other sounds prevailed as his soundless footfalls followed his now prey.

There, again, the signature emerged suddenly, but then was gone. It reminded Itachi of the circling light of a lighthouse, pulsating brightly, then as the beam makes its way around the circle it becomes dimmer until it comes into the line of sight of the viewer again. It was like this person was flashing their chakra, and once they sensed Itachi following, they would suddenly mask it. Itachi was being led somewhere, he was aware of this, but as long as he maintained his guard he would not be caught first.

Itachi activated his sharingan, and a bright spark of blue chakra illuminated slightly to his left, but then disappeared again. This was strange, and trusting his instincts, instead of directly following the person, Itachi backtracked and decided to arc his way to the side of the person and come at them from their front. Itachi noted there was no killing intent, but that did not reassure him. When he went around and was coming upon the person once again, he was slightly dismayed to discover they had ducked into a cave. He did not sense any other signatures so the circumstance of an ambush was ruled out, but then why would a person deliberately trap themselves into an enclosed area? A trap awaiting him instead?

Itachi carefully made his way inside the cave. It was strategically hidden. If Itachi hadn't been led here purposefully he would not have noticed it, would have mistaken it for a closed natural structure of the earth. His sharingan eyes roamed the dark cavern and it wasn't very deep; indeed, about fifty paces or so he would reach that signature that now was no longer veiling themselves.

When he rounded a bend and finally saw the person, he was was dumbstruck to see that it was a woman. He immediately deactivated his sharingan and could only stare in wonder at the scene before him. She glowed with a soft luminescence that appeared ethereal, unnatural. Itachi felt like he was viewing a person that had been on a projection screen, had been plucked out and was now standing before him.

Not only did her otherworldly appearance cause him to halt in astonishment, but her beauty was astounding. He had never seen anyone as magnificent as her. She had long, dark blond hair, its gentle tendrils falling softly down over her shoulders to her waist. She had kindly, yet sharp golden eyes that shone brighter than the shroud of incandescence she was emanating. She appeared to be a few years older than Itachi, but not too many, like a girl reaching the pinnacle of adolescence and coming into adulthood.

Itachi blinked slowly in shock when she suddenly chuckled lightly.

"Finally, I have discovered an Uchiha so pure of heart." Her voice sounded like the gentle cascade of a light waterfall, or the soft, smooth surface of velvet. It completely disarmed Itachi and made his insides feel extremely warm and pleasant. He briefly wondered if he was dreaming. Certainly this couldn't be real.

As if she cast a spell of immobility onto him, he remained motionless when she approached. Itachi, still being so young, stood a few inches shorter than her and stared fearlessly into tender pools of gold.

"For decades I have waited patiently for this occurrence." The smoothly running lines of her voice ran over Itachi like silk brushing his skin. She slowly reached a hand out and removed a piece of loose hair from his face. "Ironic that you would appear so much like him." She sighed wistfully, and the sound reminded Itachi of a flock of butterflies fanning around and away from him.

"I have led you here, young Uchiha, because I have a story to tell. Would you like to hear it?"

Itachi immediately nodded mechanically, feeling like his head was connected to his body by a mere piece of string or wire and someone was controlling his movements.

The small, indistinct voice in the back of his mind was asking all kinds of questions: why was this happening? Who is she? What kind of story? Who is _him_...question after question revolving around in his mind, but he managed to keep his full attention on the angel before him.

Tenderly, she touched two fingers to his forehead and suddenly all he saw was black and he lost consciousness.


	2. Oleander

This was her first "official" assignment that she was allowed to embark on without the accompaniment of other shinobi.

Senju Kanae was walking casually, almost lazily through Heiwa no Mori, a region in Fire Country with a large radius of heavily congregated trees. She was taking her time, enjoying the quiet sounds of the hidden animals, the existent, though invisible buzzing and keening of insects, the balmy, soothing breeze of a gentle wind; the natural structure of the forest in all its tranquil quality. This atmosphere was similar to her own home, which was currently a good half day's travel away, hence why she was able to let her guard drop slightly.

After discovering this when Kanae was conducting extensive research, this particular area of Fire Country was said to house a certain plant that possessed healing properties. Her task, after she practically pleaded with her father, Senju Satoru, to let her undertake this assignment solo, was to find this specific piece of greenery and bring it back home. If she was successful in tracking it down, the benefits that could be gleaned from such an amazing find would truly be extraordinary!

...or perhaps that was Kanae's enthusiasm for all things medical related causing her optimism to shine brightly. Surely, she was really the only one who considered such things as finding shrubs used for medicinal purposes exciting. But her clan was proud of her achievements. She made revolutionary discoveries at a young age. Very early on it was determined that she possessed a latent ability with healing. One day, she instinctively knew how to heal a cut she had received when training with kunai. Her father immediately set her up with some of the best healers in the clan and from there she learned all sorts of techniques. When she began to study medicine, her instant comprehension of the material with no difficulty was mind-boggling and she was heralded as one of the best up and coming healers in her generation. As the years passed and she retained more knowledge and experience, all sorts of people from different clans came to her to receive her expertise, and everyone was dumbfounded to learn of her age. Now she was seventeen.

She was a precious commodity to the clan. There have been more than one attempts of kidnapping, so Senju Satoru forbade her to ever the leave the vicinity of their home unless she was amalgamated with other clan members or trustworthy friends.

That all changed recently, and Kanae resisted skipping with elation as she weaved her way through the forest. She informed her father that she was an adult, more than capable of protecting herself if anything went awry, that he had to let her go some day, and to allow her to prove to him how qualified she was as a kunoichi of the Senju clan. The truth was, she was sheltered. Many of her counterparts had vast amounts more fighting experience than her; many of them receiving a brush with death almost every time they left the clan estate, and her only experience was of sparring with close relatives and friends. Not that she was looking for a battle to engage in, but still...though she was a genius in the area of medicine she was limited in others. She couldn't blame her father, though. He was only trying to keep her safe, but if she wanted to reach her optimum she had to be let out.

Kanae told her father she would start with menial tasks, such as offering services to neighboring clans, but when she came across this specific article about the Nerium Oleander and all of its potential healing components she thought that it was the perfect opportunity and she requested that she set off alone to find it.

From Kanae's studies, she knew that the genera Nerium belonged to the subfamily Apocynoideae, plants with a milky sap that was highly toxic. However, through plant infusion, if the precise amount of the toxin Oleandrin could be extracted, it is theorized it can contain some major healing elements. This plant mostly grew in subtropic regions, like Heiwa no Mori. It also had beautifully colored flowers. One had to be careful when handling it. It should be done with gloves because any skin contact could result in severe dermatitis that could spread easily, like poison ivy.

It was a vibrant pink that Kanae caught out of the corner of her eye. The forest was very green, so the highly contrasting color gave her little doubt that she had found it. She knelt beside the shrub and slipped her pack off her shoulders. She rummaged around inside until she found her botany encyclopedia. She flipped through the taxonomy section until she came to the Dogbane subfamily and ran her finger along the page until she noted the page number for Nerium Oleander. When she turned to it she beamed a huge smile and let out a huff of relief.

"Ah, yes, this is it." Kanae said to herself. It really was a beautiful flower. She smiled mischievously to herself. Kind of like a kuniochi; so striking in appearance, but if handled incorrectly, could be lethal.

Kanae went into her pack again, pulled out a rubber glove and slipped it on. She reached out to the plant and gripped one pink leaf between her pointer finger and thumb when suddenly she felt something sharp touch the side of her throat.

"State your purpose." A deep, gruff voice asked from behind her.

Every cell in Kanae's body froze. She didn't risk turning around to view the stranger, but the sudden revealing of a chakra signature told her the person was a shinobi. They were skilled enough to conceal their chakra completely so Kanae couldn't sense it at all and she hadn't heard them coming near her. She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth hard. Her very first assignment out by herself and she gets caught!

The blade pressed closer. "Answer me."

Discreetly, Kanae pressed her fingers together and squeezed ever-so-lightly, then slid her fingers against one another, attempting to bring out the toxin in the flower and coat the pads of her fingers with it.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm picking flowers." She answered, her voice sounding both nervous and annoyed. She slowly withdrew her hand and her movement made the tension in the air palpable to obscene amounts. Killing intent.

"I'm not here to cause trouble." She tried to reassure the ninja, her heart starting to knock against her ribcage from the nin's deadly aura.

Nothing but silence from behind. The person still hadn't removed the blade from her throat. Tense, almost choking moments passed where neither moved nor spoke. Kanae identified this as the fight or flight situation that it was, but didn't want to do either.

"I'm here looking for a specific plant. I'll leave when I've found it." She tried, attempting to keep her tone light.

More heavy seconds elapsed in silence. Then finally the blade was gone. A small sound of relief escaped Kanae as she slowly stood up. As soon as she turned around her eyes widened in fear.

There was absolutely no mistaking who caught her. She could tell by his clan garb. They all wore something similar. And his appearance gave it away instantly. The black hair, pulled back into a loose ponytail at his nape, strands falling into his eyes that were dark and piercing. In the time it took Kanae to register this, which was just a second in length, the eyes morphed into a menacing crimson and the air gushed out of her lungs as she was pushed roughly against a tree, her back making contact with it painfully. She stared, both mesmerized and horrified, into the notoriously dangerous sharingan. He held the kunai to her throat again.

"A Senju, huh?" His voice was low, almost a growl, and his breath was hot against her cheek. He recognized that she, too, was a Senju just as she noted he was an Uchiha.

An Uchiha? Why did she have to run into an _Uchiha_ of all people? Dread filled Kanae as she became fully aware of the circumstance. Her mind raced with what was going to happen now. For years, generations, the Uchiha has been the ultimate rival of her clan. Constant bloodshed, undermining, sabotage and hatred were solid proof of that. She closed her eyes and sagged her body in defeat. This was terrible luck. She stood no chance against him, even if she wasn't caught off guard and had something to defend herself with.

Something to defend herself with...

"Going to give up so easily?" He asked mockingly.

Kanae flashed her eyes open. He was just about to take hold of her hands, she could see it. Fast as lightening she made the seals for a genjutsu. The arm held out to her with the kunai against her skin loosened just slightly as he was caught in it. That was all the distraction she needed. Like a cobra, she struck her gloved hand out, making absolutely sure that she pressed her pointer finger into the man's eye. If she gave him a large enough opening he would not have let her move. She knew the sharingan possessed special skills in genjutsu and he could dispel it as soon as he sensed it.

The result was instantaneous. He instantly backed away, his kunai falling to the ground with a dull thud, and clutched his eye with both hands, screaming.

"Fucking _bitch_!" His body turned and twisted in agony, his fingers practically clawing at his eye. "What did you do to me?"

To immobilize him entirely, Kanae knelt on the ground and after a few more seals swiftly placed a hand on his thigh. She pulsed a current of chakra into his leg and he dropped to the ground, writhing, panting and screaming obscenities at her. She sent another shot of chakra into his arm, paralyzing everything from his shoulder to the tips of his fingers so he couldn't weave any signs.

Kanae jumped up and went to grab her pack. She gave one fleeting look to the Oleander, regretting that she would have to come back for it another day, and started to run. She made it about ten paces before she slowed and chanced a look back at her victim. Then she stopped.

Why, oh _why_, was she feeling _sorry_ for him? She frowned deeply as she watched him, still holding his hands over his eye and rolling on the ground in misery. What the hell was wrong with her? He was going to kill her, or at the very least incapacitate her. Then a thought occurred to her. She pitied him because in this one chance encounter she permanently disabled his most powerful weapon. Well, at least one part of it. She wondered if a sharingan user could still function with just one eye. But she also paralyzed his leg and arm. That couldn't be fixed so easily.

Kanae wondered if anyone else was with the Uchiha. She should disappear now before she was caught by multiples, but as she looked again at the thrashing mass on the ground, uneasiness and compassion swept over her. It was ridiculous and she may pay the price for it later, but she slowly walked over to him and stopped at a good distance.

"If you let me go, do not follow me, and do not report this incident to your clan, I will heal you and correct the paralysis jutsu." Kanae told him.

Wincing and clenching his teeth together so not to scream out in pain, the Uchiha removed his trembling hands from his eye. She could see from his untouched eye that he deactivated his dojutsu, but his poisoned eye appeared as if the sharingan was still in use. There was no white visible; it was completely bloodshot. In less than an hour that eye would no longer have sight.

"What?" He hissed. His chest was heaving with pants and beads of sweat were running down the sides of his face. "You're going to heal me?"

"Yes."

He stilled long enough to glare up at her, his eyes blinking uncontrollably. "Why would you do that?"

Kanae sighed. She pulled the glove off her hand and threw it on the ground, then stepped up to him until she was just a few feet away and knelt over him.

"If you agree to my terms I will heal you." She didn't really answer his question the way he was probably expecting her to, but the truth was, she didn't completely know why she was going to heal him. Kanae hated fighting. Hated _hatred_. She was really just sick of it. As soon as this Uchiha recognized her as a Senju he wasted no time restraining her. The terrible fact was the thought never crossed her mind even though she was afraid. There was so much enmity between their clans that his reaction was automatic, reflexive. That realization made her infinitely sad.

"Why?" He repeated through clamped teeth.

She stared into his eyes for a long moment. "Lets just say we'll call it even since you didn't kill me."

He stared back at her with a hard expression, his injured eye twitching.

"Is there anyone else with you?" She asked.

After a long, contemplative moment he responded, "no."

If she wanted to do this, she had no choice but to believe him. "Okay. Hold still please."

Kanae pressed a healing palm to his eye and another to his arm. The arm was the first to work properly again and in her periphery she saw him make a fist then open, testing. She then placed the hand not healing his eye onto his thigh and reversed the paralysis there, then she used both her hands on the last remaining injury. This was the spot where the most damage was done and was going to require a lot of concentration and chakra. He was totally still and his one eye was locked on her. Occasionally he would wince but he made no other movements. In fact, it looked like he was attempting to calm himself down. He was breathing deeply and evenly.

Kanae was getting slightly creeped out, though. With his one eye he just kept staring at her. His gaze was sharp and cutting. It made her uneasy, so she just focused on his other eye.

The man seemed to be young, like herself. She was even tempted to call him a boy, but knew by his height that he was not. Despite the fact that he was an Uchiha and carried all of the characteristics as such, Kanae couldn't help but note how handsome he was. She almost cringed from that thought, so she thought to make conversation while she healed him.

"What's your name?" She asked conversationally.

When he didn't answer she looked into that one eye, raising an expectant brow.

"What difference does it make if I tell you my name? We're enemies." He informed her evenly.

Kanae spared rolling her eyes and shrugged nonchalantly, indicating that she didn't really care one way or another.

"But I know who you are." He said after a short pause.

"You do?"

"You're Senju Kanae-hime, daughter of Senju Satoru, the clan leader."

Kanae didn't give any kind of response, just continued to heal him, making sure to keep her facial expressions neutral.

"I know this because she's known for her healing abilities." He continued.

"So?" Kanae said skeptically. "There are a lot of healers in my clan."

"She's also rumored to be extremely beautiful."

Kanae's chakra stopped as that comment caught her off guard.

Suddenly she found herself on her back with her arms placed above her head, her wrists bound by a hand. The Uchiha was straddling her.

"The sheltered, pampered little Senju princess with a tender-heart." He said jeeringly. "Helping an enemy when she had a chance to escape. That was the most stupid thing you could have done."

Kanae closed her eyes and willed the tears to not come out, too mortified and ashamed to be looking at the Uchiha anymore. "So, are you going to kill me now?" She swallowed thickly. "If so, then please do it quickly."

"Why would I kill you?" The man asked derisively, cruelly."The Uchiha can use someone with your skills."

Kanae opened her eyes and let out a sigh of relief. "Oh good. At least then my clan will know that I'm still alive and unharmed."

The man let out a mocking chuckle. "Unharmed? I will bring you back to my home alive, but I can't be held responsible for what the others may to do you."

Kanae's eyes widened.

"They may use you in more ways than just medical-related purposes."

A rush of anger coursed through Kanae so strong and fast her reaction was compulsive. She lifted her torso as much as she could while still being pinned and put her face right into the Uchiha's so their noses were touching.

"So why don't you start here first?" She spat. Her heart started to thump wildly both from rage and surprise at her words and actions. "This is the perfect opportunity for you since I can't move."

Kanae watched him closely as his eyes turned from wicked to hard and he let out a sound of distaste. Now it was her turn to ridicule. "What's the matter? Not interested? Or just chicken?"

Using his unoccupied hand, he roughly cupped her chin and pushed until the back of her head met the ground again. He leaned in until his lips were right at hers. His breaths were hot against her mouth. The world around her halted as she mildly panicked, wondering if he was going to kiss her. Maybe he _was_ going to take advantage of her. He was an Uchiha, after all, and there were no rules when it came to their conduct, no lines that could be crossed that could be considered immoral. The Uchiha were known for their ruthlessness and heartlessness. Kanae really regretted provoking him and she closed her eyes tightly, shuddering from trepidation from what was about to occur.

"You're pathetic." The Uchiha said before backing away. To Kanae's utter shock he released his hold on her wrists and lifted himself from her. She stared after him as he stood, stretching his formerly unusable limbs.

Kanae smirked. "Good thing you let me go." She said as she stood up, as well.

The Uchiha set his intense gaze on her. "Why is that?"

"Because if you hadn't you would have given me no incentive to finish healing you."

Kanae watched him, gratified, when for a split second his eyes widened at the realization of her words, then he glowered angrily. She purposefully didn't heal him completely.

"I only slowed down the process that would cause you permanent blindness." She told him, crossing her arms over her chest. "In a few hours time you would no longer be able to see, or _use_, your left eye." She used emphasis on the word "use" to illustrate that his sharingan would be inoperative in that eye.

His actions stopped and he turned to face her. Kanae noted how his entire body was tense, coiled, like a serpent about to attack. She stuck her chin out defiantly, letting him know that the status quo had once again changed in her favor.

"If you let me go, do not follow me, and do not enlighten your clan as to this encounter, I will heal your eye completely and there will no longer be a threat of blindness." She repeated her conditions.

She watched the Uchiha intently as he was in thought.

"If you heal me, then we'll be even." He amended.

Now Kanae thought about his words. He provoked first when he held a blade to her throat, then attacked her when he recognized she was a Senju. She retaliated when she poisoned his eye and paralyzed him. Then she healed him. He attacked her again when he pinned her to the ground, then he threatened to take her to his clan...among other things. Then he released her. She offered to heal him again. In terms of favors, he owed her because her nice deeds outweighed his.

"After I heal you, you'll actually still owe _me_, but for the sake of never seeing each other again, why don't we just call it even?"

"You tacked on two conditions to your original." He told her apathetically, as if her words made no sense to him.

"So?" She said.

"You said not to follow you and then not to report this to my clan. If they ever receive word that I had an opportunity to take the Senju princess and failed that would be considered treason. _You_ owe _me_."

Kanae's jaw dropped open. "Your clan would treat you not capturing me as treason?" She asked incredulously.

The Uchiha narrowed his eyes as Kanae shook her head in disbelief. "What kind of clan does that?"

"Shut up." He ground out in warning, a flare of angry chakra suddenly rising away from him towards her.

Kanae hadn't realized the extent of the differences in their clans until this moment. If she went home and regaled everyone with how she impaired an Uchiha no one would think to reprimand her for not capturing him and taking him as a prisoner. Furthermore, if anyone heard about her healing him she would be questioned what her motives were, but that would be it. Apparently a reprimand would probably be the least of his worries if his clan knew about what happened here.

Kanae cast her eyes to the forest floor and frowned, deeply saddened by this fact. "Okay. I will just heal you. We'll both be even and no more favors. And no one will have to know what happened here." She stated quietly, hoping this would placate him. Now all she wanted to do was get the hell out of there. For all she knew, he would forego the healing for now and risk the blindness in order to bring her back to his clan. When she was there, he and his clan could come up with ways to make her heal him.

"Please just let me go." She whispered, her voice on the edge of desperation.

There was no longer any intent to kill coming from him, but the air was still tense with his indecision. She kept her eyes on his feet just in case he decided to attack. She asked him because if he was intent on taking her, there was little she could do so stop him. She was bred and trained as a healer, not a fighter. In the few situations where she came into battle, she was required to stand off to the sides and aid those who had been injured. If this Uchiha assailed on her, she knew she was insufficient in her ability to escape from him.

"Heal me first." He said lowly. She looked up to meet his gaze then immediately nodded. She walked over to him and with a glowing hand placed it over his eye. It was difficult to focus on the healing when she had to look into his eyes. They were standing a mere foot apart and it was more intimate than she would have preferred. It seemed even more personal than what happened moments ago when he practically had his lips against hers. His face was unreadable and his eyes were blank, but it still made her unnerved. Still, when she finished, he could have deceived her and take her anyway. She really hoped not.

"Ryosuki." He murmured.

"Hm?"

"Uchiha Ryosuki. That's my name."

Kanae blinked a few times in surprise. "Um...it's nice to meet you, Ryosuki-san."

She couldn't believe it when she heard him chuckle lowly, and she couldn't help but join. This was so strange.

"So, then I guess this means we're friends?" She asked, abashed, her tone also carrying a hint of sarcasm.

"Hm." Was his response. But after a long moment he said, "even."

Kanae smiled. "Right. Even."

Since he was an Uchiha, she could settle for even. That was probably the best he could offer and the best she could receive.

When she was finished she took a step closer, peering up into his eyes. "Look up please." He complied. "To the left." And he obeyed her commands until she was finished. Kanae noticed how he appeared uncomfortable, yet still on guard, at their proximity. She was only this close because she wanted to confirm that his eye was fully healed. She actually needed a ophthalmoscope to really confirm it, but since she didn't have one on hand right now she had to lean in very close and see with the naked eye.

"How does it feel?"

"Better."

"Any burning or itching sensations?"

"No."

"Can you activate your dojutsu for me?"

His eyes immediately narrowed in suspicion at the request.

Kanae was affronted. "Do you think I would risk damaging your eyes after I healed you? You know who I am and I wouldn't want you coming after me seeking vengeance."

After a moment his dark eyes turned red.

"Any changes there?" She asked, taking this opportunity to closely inspect the sharingan without trembling from fear. If she was being honest with herself, it truly was an incredible sight.

"No."

She sighed with relief. "Alright, you should be good to go. You probably have healers in your clan, right? If you feel any residual effects then-"

"If I feel any residual effects then you can sure as hell be certain I'm coming after you."

Kanae sighed impatiently. "Chill out. An injury procured by poison always leaves trace amounts and sometimes you can feel symptoms of it, though not as severe as with the initial contact. If there are any traces, they will go away completely within a few days. Until then, if you have a healer in your clan, they can take care of it for you."

He stared at her for a long moment before nodding slightly in comprehension. She took a tentative step back, hoping this was the end and they would both depart from each other.

"It was the flower, wasn't he?" Ryosuki asked.

Kanae smiled wanly. "It's poisonous."

"So you're here collecting poisonous plants to use on weaponry?" He guessed.

"Not a bad idea, but no. The particular flower that I was trying to find can make medicines that have healing properties."

"I'm assuming you just touched the plant and its toxins spread onto your fingers. You could place the toxins on a kunai." He suggested.

"Don't give me any advice because then we'll no longer be even." She teased.

A corner of Ryusuki's mouth lifted. "Of course."

They stood awkwardly for a few moments. Kanae was unsure of what to do now.

"So, um, is this Uchiha property or something?" She asked. She wanted to make note of it so as to _never_ come here again.

"No."

For the second time, Kanae's jaw unhinged in shock. "Then why did you question why I was here and attack me?"

"Because I saw that you were a Senju." He said simply.

Kanae's brow dipped in consternation. "Oh, that's it, huh?" She asked acerbically. She folded her arms over her chest and looked away.

"And the next time I come upon you, I won't hesitate to attack again." Ryosuki said evenly.

_Of course, because you're an Uchiha and that's just what they do. They attack unsuspecting Senjus indiscriminately just for the hell of it _Kanae thought but definitely was not going to say out loud, not wanting to risk angering the Uchiha.

Kanae focused her attention on a nearby tree and didn't respond. She decided to wait for his move. She didn't want to turn her back to him. That might be too tempting.

"What is the name of the flower you were trying to find?" Ryosuki asked.

Kanae looked back to him. "Why do you want to know?"

The Uchiha continued to stare blankly at her. "I want to know the name of the plant that I will be bringing back to my clan."

Kanae sighed. "It's called Nerium Oleander."

"You were wearing a glove earlier. Is that the best way to handle it?"

"Yes. It's leaves and stem are highly toxic."

He nodded. "It was clever of you to use its poison on me. It was quite...debilitating."

Kanae took that as a compliment. "Thank you." She thought for a moment. "I wouldn't take the plant back with you unless you have highly skilled and knowledgeable healers who know how to properly use it."

Ryosuki, in his trademark way, stared weightily at the Senju kunoichi. "Very well. I assume you know how to appropriately use it?"

Kanae didn't answer, already knowing where this line of thought was going and what he was going to ask of her. No, not ask. Demand.

"I will give you a week's time to prepare and convert it into a usable form."

Kanae huffed indignantly. "And if I don't?"

"Let's just say if we ever cross paths again, you should make sure not to come in contact with my heavily poisoned kunai."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You're a real jerk, do you know that?"

The Uchiha blinked several times. Kanae almost giggled. It looked like he was trying to decide whether to be amused or irritated.

"Why are you asking me to do this?" She suddenly asked.

"I'm only asking you to make the medicine. I already know that it's poisonous in plant form. If you're worried about me using the poison against your clan that is already an inevitability."

Kanae scowled at him, then a hopeful thought occurred to her. "If I make the ointment will you promise not to harm my clan?"

Again, Ryosuki blinked as if in shock, then threw his head back and laughed.

"What?" Kanae asked, aggravation seeping into her tone.

"That's an inane request."

"Why?" She asked angrily.

"Because you're Senju and I'm Uchiha. It's like you're asking the lion not to eat the lamb."

Kanae could only guess what animal Ryosuki attributed his clan to.

"What do you expect me to do?" She asked, her tone rising with exasperation. "Why would I want to further any efforts of the Uchiha that will hurt my family? I have no desire to hurt the Uchiha or you. Why can't you just let it be?"

The only sounds Kanae could hear for a long while was the chirping of birds and the gentle rustle of leaves. Ryosuki was quiet, his expression unreadable, and she wished she knew what he was thinking. It seemed he had no intent to take her, but she didn't want to agree to his request.

One meeting wasn't going to alter the mentality of an Uchiha that has been ingrained for generations. Maybe another, along with a favor completed, might help. Kanae desperately hoped her naiveté wasn't glaring in this instance.

"Okay. I'll meet you here in a week, same time and place, with the medicine."

To be continued...

A/N: Heiwa no Mori: Forest of Peace.

For those of you who are hardcore botanists, you will know that I took a lot of liberties with the Nerium Oleander. It is highly toxic, but there is no substantial evidence of it containing healing properties, and if it is used in any beneficial way than it's for things like cancer or congestive heart failure, but hasn't been proven yet. Also, if the toxin gets into the eye it doesn't cause blindness; it's just a severe irritant.


	3. Armistice

Uchiha Ryosuki was perched along a tree branch, his back leaning against the trunk, one leg dangling over the side as the other was stretched out before him. His eyes were closed and he listened intently to the placid sounds of the forest and breathed in the warm, unpolluted scent of the close air under the umbrella of the overhanging trees. It was much different than what he was used to back home at Mizu niyoru yama. The Uchiha clan was situated at the end of the peninsula and there were the constant sounds of lapping waves, howling wind, and seagulls alongside the taste of salt on the tongue from the seawater a few hundred feet below the plateau.

It took almost two days for Ryosuki to reach Heiwa no Mori to meet Kanae-hime at their designated spot. Most of the time was spent traveling on a shinobi's foot. He felt secure that no one knew where he was going and no one followed him, but just to be certain he scanned his immediate territory for any other presences. He had lost count how many times he did this. Call it paranoia, but he was trained to be aware of everything at all times.

That was how Ryosuki came across Kanae-hime in the first place. He had been journeying toward the Fire Daimyo estate on a mission and accidentally came across her. He preferred to stay off the main roads and was startled to sense another signature nearby in the forest. It was unusual for other people to walk so deep in the woods so his curiosity got the better of him and he followed the scent of her signature. When he got close enough to see her, he couldn't believe whom he was essentially spying on. He was trained to be completely familiarized with her appearance from the color of her eyes, her height, to her hair color and texture. He had seen pictures of her, as well. Almost every shinobi had to be cognizant of the famous Senju clan's princess. She was appraised as one of the most powerful and talented healers in all of the shinobi world.

Finally seeing her in person, Ryosuki could tell she was a kunoichi. She moved fluidly and gracefully along the rough and uneven terrain of the forest floor, but made it appear as if she was dancing or floating. Also, her eyes were constantly searching, which told him she was trained, just as he was, to always be conscientious of what was happening in the nearby vicinity. Viewing her alive instead of a given description or picture, her beauty was not an exaggeration as he believed it to be. Weren't all princesses supposed to beautiful, as the cliché goes?

Her diligence in keeping herself alert would probably work on any other shinobi that wasn't an Uchiha, but it was unfortunate that it was him trailing her. The Uchiha were masters at veiling their chakra just enough to blend in with the environment so she was oblivious to his presence. As far as she could probably tell, he was just another tree in the forest or rock on the ground.

What the hell was she doing out here by herself? Didn't she know she was deliberately putting herself in danger? Ryosuki thought she was a fool. Or, moreover, her father was. Since the Senju was the Uchiha's primary adversary, his clan was required to be utterly immersed in the ways the Senju functioned: who left the Senju estate, what their abilities were, who they were employed by, what kinds of missions they undertook, what their physical characteristics were and how they dressed, etc. Ryosuki knew for a fact that Kanae-hime almost never left her clan estate and if she did, it was never alone. Until now apparently.

Did she finally become bored or resentful of Senju Satoru constantly sequestering her from going out and engaging other shinobi and ran away? She carried a pack. Maybe filled with clothes for a long journey away from her clan? As Ryosuki followed her it didn't appear so. She didn't seem downtrodden, forlorn, or to be wandering aimlessly. It was actually the opposite. As she traveled through the forest her gait was steady, purposeful, like she had a specific location in mind. Was she assigned to a solo mission?

Ryosuki almost spit at the ground with derision. If that was the case what a stupid move that Senju Satoru made. Or perhaps he was unaware of his daughter leaving in the first place?

Ryosuki then had a decision to make. The decision was whether to leave her be and keep moving, capture her and take her to his clan for them to make the decision, or to take her out himself.

There really wasn't anything to decide though. His clan had ordered a kill-on-sight for any Senju to be effectuated, regardless if their mission involved them or not. This never really settled well with Ryosuki, but he certainly was never one to disobey orders from the top of command. There were severe consequences for insubordination.

No one else was around. If he decided to leave her be, there was virtually no way the Uchiha would know he discovered that she was alone and he found her. Sometimes the clan council liked to implement random interrogations for assurance that the clansmen were complying with the orders of the elders at all times, but Ryosuki had always been perfect in his conduct. No one should have a preconceived notion of suspicion. More than likely he would not be questioned.

She was clueless to his existence. He could come upon her, knock her unconscious and she wouldn't know who or what did it. She would then wake up to find herself a prisoner of the Uchiha clan. She was an exceptional healer, besides being a bargaining tool to the Senju. Surely, in the eyes of his clan, the accomplishment of capturing her instead of killing her would put him in the highest regard among the other clansmen.

Then again, he would have to carry her for hundreds of miles, risk her waking up and discovering who took her. Of course, her clan wouldn't know it was an Uchiha that had her, but then there was the possibility she could escape, informing her clan of what happened and risk hostilities or even war against the Uchiha. Not that the Uchiha would mind in the least. Ryosuki wanted to believe that escape was unlikely, but he was trained never to underestimate an opponent, even if she was a woman. Since she was her clan head's daughter she was conceivably well equipped to defend herself against this very circumstance.

As Ryosuki weighed all of the pros and cons in his mind he saw her suddenly stop. She knelt to examine what looked to be a flower of some sort. She slipped her pack off her shoulders, searched in it until she pulled out a heavy looking book. She eagerly flipped through to a certain page and seemed to be excited about something.

She was thoroughly distracted. That was a good time.

Continuing to completely obscure his presence, Ryosuki sneakily made his way over to the Senju Kunoichi, silently pulling out a kunai from his weapons holster. She had just reached out to touch the plant before she realized she was caught.

What Ryosuki still had trouble understanding, and if he reflected on it more deeply, still almost couldn't believe, as if it never happened, was how she took him down. If there were ways to completely disable an Uchiha, she used them. She was well trained indeed.

When he was lying there on the ground with absolutely no feeling or ability to move his arm and leg and his eye was burning like someone stuck a blazing fire poker in it, he was enraged not necessarily at her, but what happened. His ineptitude to successfully capture her was pathetic and alarming. He _completely_ underestimated her. When she was running away he was reaching for another kunai in his holster. It would be days before a search party would be sent out to find him, and since he couldn't move very far he would die in Heiwa no Mori. Slitting his own throat or stabbing the kunai through his heart was a better way to go than starvation or dehydration. He suddenly deemed himself unworthy of being an Uchiha, of being a _shinobi_, and wanted to die based on his egregious mistake of disparaging the Senju princess.

Just as he was about to pull out the weapon she was suddenly standing over him, offering her terms for healing him.

A few things he walked away with from that encounter: _never _ignorantly diminish ones abilities and do not attack recklessly or carelessly. These he already knew in theory, but this was the first opportunity for the concepts to be tested out in actuality. Even now Ryosuki still wanted to take a kunai and gash himself anywhere on his body as a demonstration of the maladroit way he handled that encounter.

A few things he learned about her: she was clever, perhaps more so than himself, incredibly intelligent, but one thing that had him reeling with bewilderment was how..._not violent_ she was. She only attacked to defend herself; he could see it from the moment she turned around that she had no intent to attack him. She even admitted to him she had no desire to do so, even after what he had done to her. His almost unconscious intention was to render her immobile and hers was not to harm him. He still couldn't completely comprehend it. She knew he was an Uchiha...why did she hesitate for even a second?

After he left her, amazed still that she agreed to create the medicine for him, he sneered at the idea that that was how her father taught her to live. Ryosuki didn't see it as compassion or taking the high ground. He saw it as weakness. That kind of mindset will only get you eliminated in the dangerous world of shinobi.

All week he vacillated on feeling confounded and disgusted at what happened between them. She made herself effectively vulnerable by coming back to give him the medicine. That is, if she was going to. Maybe this time around she would be smart enough not to come, or at least bring others with her.

But when he felt her presence meandering through the trees and noted she was, again, alone, he was stuck, again, with being both astonished and full of revulsion. He couldn't understand her...couldn't understand why she would make herself so available to him.

When she neared he dropped from the tree and had to stifle a repugnant laugh at her expense. She was caught off guard again. He could see she was both angry and embarrassed from it, but she brushed it off quickly. Before Ryosuki had the opportunity to speak, she approached him while taking her pack off her shoulders, reaching inside and pulling out a vile with a clear liquid. She wordlessly handed it to him.

Ryosuki stepped into a ray of sunshine beaming down through the canopy of the trees and examined the vile's contents. He didn't really know what he was looking at or looking for, so he turned to look at the Senju princess.

"If I cut myself right now it would heal?" He asked her evenly. He saw her fold her arms across her chest, something she seemed to do when she was annoyed.

"Nice greeting," she complained, then sighed. "Yes. I wouldn't deceive you. You can use it to heal any kind of wound, even poisoned ones. It will prevent infection, swelling, and will expedite the healing process. A few drops should be sufficient."

Ryosuki nodded and slipped the small container into his weapons holster. It would be convenient in situations where a healer wasn't present. He turned to Kanae-hime. "Each week I want you to create the medicine and bring it here." The supply was enough to last for a while, but obviously wouldn't last indefinitely.

Her eyes widened in repudiation. "You can't demand that of me! I can't guarantee I'll be available to travel all this way each week."

Ryosuki maintained a steady and stern look. "I will need you to replenish this supply. If you can't make it each week then come when you can. I can't guarantee I will be here also, but you can leave it in a hidden place for me pick up."

Seconds ticked by as she regarded him uncertainly. She was probably contemplating on what would happen if she refused. Perhaps he should give her some incentive.

"If you don't then I will take you to my clan now. They will appreciate what you have to offer."

Kanae seemed to understand the double-meaning in his words for she narrowed her eyes and let out a sound of disgust.

"I say that you're getting a good deal. You get to go back home to daddy instead of staying locked up in an Uchiha holding cell. All you have to do is keep making the medicine."

Ryosuki stared unending into her bright aureate eyes as she continued to think.

"What do I get out of this?" she asked suddenly.

Ryosuki blinked. "I do not take you back to my clan. I thought that was obvious enough."

"And that's supposed to be motivation for me? An Uchiha doesn't capture me? I receive those kinds of threats on a daily basis. You're no different,"she stated as if unimpressed.

Ryosuki was, once again, dumbstruck. She sure knew how to think quickly. But so did he. "I could just take you now and make the threat a reality."

"And risk war or animosity from the Senju? That wouldn't be prudent of you."

"How would they know who it was that captured you and where they were taking you..." While he was speaking it occurred to him. "You told your clan about our meeting, didn't you?" he asked Kanae harshly, stepping forward and jabbing a finger at her. She took a tentative step back.

"Yes! Unlike your clan, they don't consider this _treason_!" She spat.

Hatred, indignation and outrage flooded through Ryosuki and his actions were almost uncontrollable. He flew at Kanae just like the first time they met, forcing her against a tree. This time he took a hold of her hands with one of his, binding her at the wrists and pinning them behind her. Instead of pulling out a kunai, he saw her watch with terrified eyes as he drew his hand back. It would be one thing for his fist to make contact with her face. It was another thing entirely for him to backhand her like he intended to do. It was to show that he wouldn't condone her insulting his clan; that disrespect was going to be met with disrespect. As he swung she ducked her head to the side, letting out an anguished cry as she anticipated the blow. But he didn't hit her.

He was too fast for her to defend herself, so she couldn't stop him. Her inability to protect herself was pitiful, yet at the same time disheartening. She was so weak. How did she travel around and not get herself into trouble with other shinobi?

Ryosuki dropped his hand, but maintained his hold on her. He could feel her trembling. She was afraid. Sometimes that was questionable; she gave off an air of audacity that was irresponsible and thoughtless at times. If she didn't choose her words carefully they could illicit a certain reaction out of the recipient. Like what almost happened a moment ago. But he could see underneath that bravado, which was probably caused by her position within her clan, that she was truly fearful. At least of him.

"It would be wise of you not throw around insults so flippantly, Senju," Ryosuki ground out threateningly.

She didn't give any indication that she was listening to him. She still had her head turned down and to the side. To make sure she understood, he took a hold of her chin and forced her to look up at him. It was terribly degrading, his control over her. He could see it in her eyes. They were filled with fear and torment and hate. The normally amber color were a bright gold, shining with unshed tears.

For some reason that Ryosuki would ponder later and still not know, he couldn't help but stare ceaselessly into them. They were an unusual color. Gold mixed with flecks of blue and green. They were captivating. He didn't realize he was leaning forward until he saw those golden eyes widen and she let out an alarmed gasp.

Instantly coming out of his trance, Ryosuki let go and stepped away, turning his back to her. What the hell...? For a moment it was like she cast a spell on him. He couldn't concentrate on anything but _her_ right then. Did the Senju possess some kind of hidden dojutsu that the Uchiha were unaware of?

When he turned back to face her she was still leaning against the tree, hugging herself tightly, her face downcast. Her shoulders shook gently and he knew she was crying. Again, he felt oddly split between remorse and disgust. A part of him actually felt a little bad for hurting her. She was like a helpless child, innocent and naive. He felt like he was taking advantage of her in a very cruel way.

A long time passed where neither spoke. Ryosuki just watched as the Senju princess silently mourned her predicament. He knew she probably wouldn't voluntarily give anything he asked for after this. Now, to her, it was coercion. Either he take her back to his clan right this moment, or she meet his expectations of bringing the medicine every week. If it was entirely her choice, she would probably choose never to see him again. But she was useful, and a part of him, a very twisted and disrupted part, relished her discomfort. It meant he was keeping the control. From now on, though, he would have to be extra careful. Now her clan knew about him, knew about their rendezvous. She put him in a seriously exposed position, and that thought shoved his guilt aside to be replaced by chagrin.

"So your clan knows about me, huh?"

Kanae lifted her head slightly and wiped the tears from her face. "Yes. They thought I was crazy, meeting you here like this, but just told me to be careful," she responded in barely a whisper. "Maybe I am crazy," she tacked on.

He could have been offended by her comment, knowing there was an indirect cheap shot, but wasn't he questioning something similar earlier?

"If I didn't mention taking you back to my clan, would you have complied with my request that you make the medicine and bring it to me?"

Kanae looked up fully, appearing a little startled by his question. "I-I...uh...I don't know."

An awkward silence passed between them as they looked at each other.

"Well, maybe...if I got something out of it," she answered more resolutely.

She was offering her medical skills for free. Of course, the looming threat of being taken prisoner to an enemy clan seemed to be a good motivator, but he sensed that she was not appreciating her giving so much while he didn't give anything.

"What do you want?" Ryosuki suddenly asked. "In exchange for your services?"

Again, Kanae appeared shocked. Then she was in thought. "Well, you're an Uchiha, known for their adeptness in battle. You can...train with me." She ended her sentence with some amount of hesitancy.

Now it was Ryosuki's turn to be shocked. "Train with you? Like sparring?" Didn't she receive that kind of training back with her clan?

"Yeah, sparring...and everything else. With weaponry. And jutsu."

Ryosuki weighed this in his mind. She would receive his expertise as a fighter for her medical expertise. It was a pretty even trade, all things considered. As long as no one else found out about it, namely anyone from his clan. Of course, there was the fact that she would learn some of his techniques, potentially giving her the skills and opportunity to beat him in a fight. But he already knew she wasn't interested in that. Ryosuki instinctively knew he shouldn't fear or doubt her.

"Deal."

OoOoO

This was the twelth time they were meeting, not counting the first where they initially made the arrangement. It wasn't every week as Ryosuki proposed, but it was close. No one from his clan questioned his whereabouts. They typically didn't unless they suspected something untoward happening. It was normal for the shinobi of his clan to be gone for weeks at a time, return for a short time, then be off again. He just had to be careful about completing his duties before setting off to meet Kanae-hime.

Her concoction had proven to be a godsend for him and the Uchiha. When asked where he received the medicine from, he circumspectly told the elders, "From a very reliable source." He was relieved to see they weren't going to investigate further than that. Various members of the Uchiha all had their own seemingly unscrupulous methods of getting what they wanted or needed. And as long as they didn't bring immediate or direct danger to the clan, it was acceptable. Besides, his was of a lesser concern anyway. It was just medicine, not something like a forbidden jutsu, stolen weapons or money.

Kanae-hime was proving to be a competent and dexterous...student? He wouldn't call her that, but she was certainly learning from him. She was a quick study, caught on with little effort, and Ryosuki could see the formal training she received and that probably helped her in understanding.

She was also happy and not at all reluctant to obtain the knowledge he gave her. Eager was probably the best word he could use to describe her. It gave him the impression that this was something she had desired for a long while and he was her source for getting it. Indeed, she even admitted as much. She told him because of her status in her clan those who trained with her never "went all out" and therefore stunted her progression for maximum growth. It made Ryosuki feel...needed. He never taught anyone before, so therefore never got to experience the gratification or feeling of accomplishment when she successfully executed a jutsu or taijutsu move that he showed her.

As the weeks progressed he was learning more about her and her clan. His first impression of her tenderheartedness was correct. She was a kind, benevolent sort of person, and Ryosuki supposed that naturally went along with her healing abilities. Healers had to be compassionate, even to enemies on some level. She was kind to him when he had given her no reason to be.

She was a genius in medicine. Her skills surpassed those of any healers he knew. When they would take breaks in between the training sometimes he would just sit and listen to her talk about medical stuff. He wouldn't give away the fact that he really had no idea what she was talking about, but the way her eyes would light up excitedly and the way she smiled was enough for him to be content listening to her.

He also learned a lot about the Senju that was disconcerting. They were aware of him but they chose not to pursue. They either didn't care enough or were biding their time for the right opportunity. Despite getting to know Kanae-hime and becoming particularly fond of her, he maintained his guard. There was a reason why his clan still considered the Senju their enemy. They were still shinobi and there were generations of grievances stacked up against them. The same could be said for his clan, so what was occurring between him and Kanae-hime was just another thing that could be considered tantamount to a ceasefire. At least just between them.

He was beginning to wonder though...if she gave him reason to, could he kill her? At the very beginning, yes, without a doubt, but at this point...? The very thought made his stomach turn uneasily. So far, there was no need. Her guilelessness was not something she acted out of ignorance, as he mistakenly accused her of from the start, but was from a genuine desire not to be at odds with anyone. Especially the Uchiha. She even admitted as much to him.

It was worryingly...unfettering to know that she was technically not an enemy. They could meet and not be concerned about defenses or clans or missions or...anything really. It was strangely a...reprieve being around her. Her personality was easygoing, but at the same time, if he unwittingly said something or did something that was offensive she was not meek in her reaction. If she was bothered she would tell him so and in sometimes not so nice of words. But he knew she meant no harm. She was witty, charming and had a sense of humor that he seemed to really understand and appreciate.

It was an odd armistice they came to.

As much as he could while training her and being in such close proximity, he tried not to think about how beautiful she was. Tried hard.

He kept telling himself that she was a Senju. Just that name roused a knee-jerk reaction to feel contempt, but when she conversed easily with him like they had been friends for years and when she smiled and laughed at his ill-attempts at humor, he wasn't so compelled to think of her as part of a rival clan, but just as Kanae. She didn't even demand or expect her honorific, which said a lot.

Most of the training days went well. Some other days he could tell she was distracted or simply just not feeling it. Today was one of those. She was leaving openings in their sparring.

"C'mon, Kanae, is that all you've got?" he goaded jeeringly. She was becoming frustrated, something that shouldn't be done in battle. A shinobi always had to keep a level-head.

They were training just in taijutsu today. It was the summer season and that made the already temperate climate of Fire Country very hot. It was probably her discomfort from the weather, the fact that she probably didn't really feel like training today but was forcing herself to, and perhaps something else that was exacerbating her already bad mood.

"This is really pathetic. If you got caught by an enemy you'd be dead by now," Ryosuki told her.

He watched as her eyes turned hard and the look of concentration on her delicate features contorted into anger.

"You're too easy of a target with your emotions. You let them distract you," Ryosuki said, demonstrating this by dodging a kick aimed for his chest, taking hold of her ankle, twisting her body awkwardly until she had no choice but to fall to the ground otherwise her leg would sprain.

"You need to focus on the fight. Anticipate my movements."

"I am!" she yelled, exasperated. Yup, something was definitely bothering her. It normally wasn't like her to be this contemptuous. It seemed like she was beleaguered by outside forces that had nothing to do with their training. Perhaps problems with her clan...?

None of that mattered. He was asked to make her a better fighter and soldier and her noncompliance was something that couldn't be tolerated because if in a real battle, all of her problems would have to be suppressed in order to stay alive.

"No, you're not. You're acting like an insolent little brat. Get up."

Ryosuki let her go. To piss her off more he even had the gall to turn his back to her, ignoring the cardinal rule of engagement: never turn your back to an enemy. When he felt her coming he turned. She was running at him and when she pulled her fist back to deck him in the face he put his hand up to catch it in his palm.

The last thing he expected to happen was to experience a shockingly extraordinary amount of pain in his hand. It was akin to someone taking a hammer and smashing it, all of the bones breaking, splintering and crumbling from the impact. He let out a fierce cry but was petrified when next he saw her fist to continue toward his face, knowing he was going to feel similar pain there, as well. Her fist found purchase, and sent him sprawling. A monumental amount of pain lanced through his jaw and he saw red and white spots dance before his eyes. He let out a hard grunt as his back hit the ground. What the hell happened? He blocked her!

"Oh my god! Ryo! Ryo! Are you okay?"

He went to touch his immensely aching jaw but as soon as his fingertips brushed it another lash of pain shot through him. It made his toes curl in agony and harsh cry rip from his throat.

"Don't touch your face! I think I broke your jaw!" he heard Kanae yell.

"Wha-" He tried to speak, but it felt like someone took something with a pointy end and jabbed it right onto his injury. He winced and grunted, but it only caused more pain. He wanted to ask what the hell happened.

"I'm going to heal you now, okay? Just hold still."

He saw her lean over him and then felt her chakra charge the lower half of his face. _That_ much damage? The first set of healing was uncomfortable, but after a while it became soothing and he could feel the warm connecting of the tissue.

After a while he looked up to see Kanae cringing.

"Whagh?" He tried to ask, but she shushed him.

"Don't talk or you'll misalign your jaw again. The Temporomandibular joints need to be reconnected otherwise you'll have subsidiary problems with other parts of your body. I...uh...I need to heal _all_ of them."

Ryosuki spared rolling his eyes. "Teeg?"

He saw Kanae roll hers. "You're not missing any teeth. Now _stop_ talking or I'll break your jaw again."

He was both amused and irritated when she cracked a small but very arrogant smirk. Oh he was so going to get her back for this.

When she informed him that he could talk she continued to heal along his face. "What the hell did you do?" Was his first question. In the back of his mind he noted how it would have taken any other healer hours to complete the healing, but for Kanae it was probably as simple as a paper cut. It was truly amazing.

"I...I have no idea. I just...well...I got so mad because you were being such an asshole and, well, when I went to punch you I fully expected you to dodge it or something, but at the same time I felt-" She stopped abruptly, tilting her head in confusion.

"Felt what?"

"I don't know...like...a surge of chakra shot through my arm. I don't know if I'm explaining it right..."

A surge of chakra shot through her arm? He had never heard of anything like that. Not with a simple punch anyway.

When she completed the healing on his face he sat up, holding his badly mangled hand to his chest.

"Let me take a look at that," she said quietly, slowly reaching out to him. He hadn't looked at it yet; he didn't want to, but when she gingerly took a hold of his wrist and held it up for closer inspection he cringed. It was appalling shades of black, purple and yellow and swelling tremendously. It was probably more than double the size of his other hand.

"I'm so sorry," Kanae said softly. She sat cross legged on the ground, placed his hand in her lap and with both of her hands glowing she proceeded to heal him. There weren't as many components on his face compared to his hand, so this healing was probably going to take a lot longer and expend a lot more chakra.

Ryosuki flashed his sharigan active. "I can see you're drawing from the last half of your chakra reserves. You don't have to heal this completely."

Kanae looked up at him. "Are you kidding? This is totally my fault. We're not leaving here until your hand is like brand new."

"Don't deplete your chakra," he chided lowly.

"Shut up and just let me do this."

His eyes narrowed a fraction, but didn't argue anymore. He learned early on just to let her have her way. Her sometimes bossy and impudent attitude was probably derived from her status as a princess.

Many times they had sat close to one another and many times Ryosuki would just watch her as she spoke. Or sometimes he would just watch her when she wasn't even speaking. Right now he kept his eyes locked on the soft, elegant planes of her face. Her cheeks were dusted with a faint crimson, most likely from their sparring, but it could be from embarrassment, as well. Perhaps both. Her pale features held a rose undertone, and the subtle blush added to her already exquisite fairness. She really was incredibly beautiful. He wondered if she was attached to someone back home. How could she not be with her position in her clan and with how attractive she was? And if she was...he wondered if he knew about their meetings every week.

In the Uchiha clan, marriage was essentially an obligation to be fulfilled in order to breed more Uchiha soldiers. For those who had been brought in from outside the clan are completely aware of this expectation. And if they could not follow through, then they were banished and another wife would be obtained. His mother was not an Uchiha; she was a kunoichi from another clan. Being raised by her allowed Ryosuki to see and appreciate the inconspicuous though significant effects femininity can bring to a hardened, mostly obdurate clan like his. Around other clansmen, his father regarded his mother the same as all the others did to their wives: dismissively, sometimes belittling, but in the privacy of their home Ryosuki could see how he truly loved her. When she would speak, she would hold his undivided attention like her words were the most important thing in the world to him. Maybe they were. He was never vocal about his adoration of her, but Ryosuki could see it in his actions. Sometimes he would catch his father leaning against the frame of a doorway, arms folded across his chest, seemingly stoic, but he would be intently watching his mother as she washed dishes, folded laundry or was cooking.

Right now, Ryosuki was a little shocked to find himself observing Kanae with the same attentiveness his father gave to his mother. Because Kanae's words, her actions, whether during sparring or simple interaction, her impartiality, her tender nature, her strength and eagerness to prove herself and become a better kunoichi all meant something to Ryosuki. He didn't like to see her troubled. Which reminded him of something.

"You seemed...distracted today." He murmured.

Kanae looked up at him. Uncharacteristically, her expression was indecipherable, but then she closed her eyes and blew out a light sigh, a little furrow appearing at her brows. "Yeah," was all she said.

"What's the matter?"

She opened her eyes and Ryosuki stared searchingly into gentle pools of gold. He was shocked when he saw them fill with tears. "I just...want something that I probably shouldn't have."

He deeply assimilated her words. His chest tightened and his stomach flip-flopped simultaneously as they resonated profoundly within him. He perceived her words exactly how she meant them. He felt her chakra pause and they both continued to stare incessantly into each other's eyes. Ryosuki had another decision to make then, but the burden was taken completely out of his hands when she suddenly leaned in and pressed her lips to his. The kiss was tentative, searching, discovering. Ryosuki's heart began to palpitate as he attempted to sort through the messy tangle of his feelings. She was right. She shouldn't have this. Or more precisely, she shouldn't _want_ to have this...or him. The Senju may not be exactly accepting of this, but they would probably tolerate it for her. The Uchiha on the other hand...

Ryosuki pulled away, casting his eyes to his hand that was still being held by Kanae. He didn't say a word, but he didn't need to. His silence was answer enough to her forwardness.

She immediately got up with an upset huff and began to stomp away. Ryosuki followed her with his eyes. He looked over and noticed that she didn't take her pack with her. She could have forgotten it, but that wasn't like her, so more than likely she was going to come back.

OoOoO

Less than an hour later, Ryosuki was sitting on the forest floor leaning up against a tree and was going to get up and go find Kanae because the pain in his hand became unbearable once again but her petite figure broke through a line of trees.

He stood up and walked to meet her. She didn't make eye contact with him but held her hand out for his own. Without word, he placed it into hers and she continued healing where she had left off.

The silence between them was awkward and stuffy. She still hadn't met his eyes.

"I want you to understand, Kanae-hime, that-"

"Please don't bother," she interrupted brusquely.

Ryosuki frowned. He felt compelled to explain what his thoughts were because while he actually returned her feelings, they couldn't be involved with each other as more than friends...and even that was pushing it. He owed it to her for her to at least know.

He took hold of her chin with his good hand and forced her to look up. She resisted.

"Look at me."

Her glassy eyes finally met his.

"I understand how you feel. I...I feel the same way. But you know it can't be."

Her eyes widened slightly at the revelation. "Why?" she asked in a small, dejected voice.

"You already know why. My clan will never accept it."

At that comment the tears she obviously had been suppressing finally fell. "It's not fair," she stated sadly.

As if he was watching someone else's hand move, he felt strange as he cupped the side of her face and wiped her tears away with his thumb. He didn't respond. What could he say? It _wasn't_ fair, but it was what it was.

This whole episode was strange because he _never_ expected to feel this way about a Senju.

"What if...?" she suddenly started to ask, her luminous eyes big and hopeful, but he already knew what her line of thinking was. He started to shake his head.

"It's not possible."

"What if we just explained to them-"

"We can't."

"You're ready to give up so quickly? Am I...I'm not worth it to you?"

A sudden rush of anger ran through Ryosuki at her words. "You don't understand. Nothing you or I could say will change the fact that they won't accept it," Ryosuki said in a tone of finality. Not only would they not accept it, if his clan ever knew about what was happening between them it would be risking Kanae's life, and there was no way Ryosuki would do that. That was how much she was worth it.

"What are we supposed to do then?" She asked obstinately. "Am I supposed to just forget how I feel about you?"

Ryosuki's silence this time was prolonged. "It would probably be best if you just forgot about me altogether," he finally answered her, his voice very quiet and resigned.

Her tears kept streaming steadily down her face and she appeared horrified at his words. "I...I don't want to. I've never felt this way about anyone."

Ryosuki hadn't realized the depth of her feelings until then. He desperately wanted to believe that it was just a mere crush or admiration for helping her with training. But deep down he knew, even for himself, that what was between them was so much more than that.

He never answered her and she seemed to not expect one. The time she took to finish healing his hand was conducted in silence until she said, "Okay, it's done. How does it feel?"

Ryosuki rotated his wrist and flexed his hand. "Fine."

Without looking at him, she backed away and went to grab her pack. Ryosuki followed her. "You will have to hurry if you want to make it home before nightfall," he told her evenly.

"I know."

"Stay off the main roads and if it gets dark stop and make camp." He didn't want her staying at an inn or anywhere where she could be outnumbered.

"I know," she responded more tersely.

She pulled her arms through the straps and turned to face him but still wouldn't meet his eyes. She hesitated a moment, as if deciding something, but then turned away slowly.

"Thank you," Ryosuki said quietly, and he hoped she understood it was for so much more than healing his face and hand.

Kanae seemed to. She stopped and looked up at him. Again, unlike herself, her face was without expression, but then she suddenly walked briskly towards him, threw her arms around his neck and sealed her lips to his. Ryosuki didn't stop or deny her. He wanted this, too. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close, returning the kiss with equal fervency. It was a kiss of goodbye, a glimpse of something they could have if they were two different people.

When Kanae pulled away she brought a small hand to Ryosuki's face. He studied her eyes very intensely, memorizing the brilliancy of the colors and the wonderful fighting spirit he saw in them. Then, without another word, she somberly turned toward the direction of her home and walked away.

* * *

><p>To be continued...<p>

A/N: Mizu niyoru yama: mountains by the sea.

Thanks to silver-footsteps for the beta. You da bomb (:


	4. Fortuity

Kanae started training to sharpen her newfound skill of breaking a man's hand and jaw with a single punch.

A week had passed since the last time she had seen Ryosuki - since he told her that she should forget about him - but she still came to their spot anyway. She even brought the medicine, just in case. She arrived at Heiwa no Mori late morning and when she could see the sun at noon point through the cover of trees, she decided to keep waiting. He might show up. At the time, it was evident that their arrangement was negated by what was growing between them, but since they didn't verbally specify it, she wanted to go back and see if he would return also. She told herself that it was probably a futile journey and she wasn't really going to maintain their deal so she should turn around and go back home. But she ignored the nagging thought. She wondered if they were to come across each other on the battlefield what would happen. Were they enemies again? Would he attack her as if the past few months had never occurred? She already knew she wouldn't hurt him, even to save her own life.

With her pessimistic thoughts running rampant in her mind, she had sat down with her back against a tree, feeling dejected. Being in this place was making her think of him and their last meeting. When her mind touched upon the damage she had done to him with just one punch, she suddenly jumped up. Resuming the training that she started when she had arrived back home was better than sitting around feeling useless.

The first thing she did after she passed through the Senju clan's estate gates was run to the archival repository. She spent hours, going late into the night and very early morning, gathering all of the information she could find on chakra and one's ability to control it within the body. Her father actually came and found her and insisted she go get some rest, but as soon as she woke the next morning she was back at it.

She was already aware that healers possessed a special type of chakra control compared to other ninja. Pouring through all of the various references and instances of chakra usage brought her to learning how to focus it to certain parts of the body, like the hands and feet, which she already had tons of experience in with her medical jutsu. If someone was going to use their fist and wanted to enhance the force of a blow with chakra, the next step was to pinpoint that concentrated chakra so it reached the knuckles at the precise moment of collision. Kanae had instinctively done this when she had punched Ryosuki, but she wasn't sure if she could do it again at a moment's notice or even if someone asked her to. In retrospect, she really had no idea how it happened and wouldn't be able to adequately describe it to someone...but she had done it once and was determined to discover exactly how.

She remembered that she had been _extremely_ angry and excited. So, Kanae did some research on how emotions affected chakra and its passage through the chakra system in the body. Intensified emotions lead to certain bodily occurrences like the release of neurotransmitters, such as endorphins and epinephrine. When these circulate through the body and into various systems, such as the chakra system, it bolsters one's ability to use chakra more efficiently. An onset of hormones that speed up heart rate and dilate air passages, such as adrenaline, and a flush of endogenous opioids, such as endorphins, increases a person's success in battle, as opposed to a person who was still and suddenly had to get up and fight.

Once she determined physiologically how she could heighten her basic strength using various bodily and natural activities that complement the chakra's proficiency, she ran into a couple of complications. One, she realized that she didn't feel excited or angry all the time. She wanted to reach the point where she didn't need external precipitation to influence those natural bodily functions in order to use her chakra in the way she had used against Ryosuki. So, how did one become angry or excited without being provoked? She thought that she could produce strong emotions by thinking of things that bothered her, but that wasn't near the extent to which those endorphins and the adrenaline needed to reach in order for the chakra to be affected, or it would take a long time, longer than reasonable. So, she came up with her own way to facilitate those essential body behaviors without outside instigation. Luckily, she was able to do this with little difficulty all because of her arduous training as a healer. She was thoroughly knowledgeable of all aspects of the body and she could speed up, slow down, or completely stop internal operations. That included her hormone and endorphin levels. That was how she was able to use a paralysis jutsu on Ryosuki the first day they met.

After she surpassed that first obstacle, the second was the damage that was done to her person. She struck tree after tree and later paid for it. Since she was a healer, it was no problem fixing her injured knuckles, but she knew it was an inefficient use of chakra to heal herself every time, so she had to find a way to bulwark her body while simultaneously being destructive. This was the most difficult part. While she shot chakra through her arm, when it reached the end of the hand, she had to synchronize creating a healing barrier of chakra to prevent injuring herself while pushing chakra out. This took a lot of practice, and she knew only those with extremely good chakra control could do it. It made her feel special, in a way, knowing she was developing a technique that would be a rarity in the shinobi world.

Kanae hadn't realized she had been training all day until she felt hungry and immediately was panicked. Her eyes flew up to the sky and saw its soft orange glow, indicative of a setting sun. Shit. There was no way she would have enough time to get back home before the sun completely set.

_'How could you be so irresponsible?' _Kanae admonished herself as she flew around the small clearing and gathered up her things. She felt the sting of tears in her eyes and the tightening of her chest at her oversight and the fact that Ryosuki had never showed up.

When she had returned home last week, she didn't tell anyone of what happened, so when she left today, her clan didn't know she was meeting no one. They just assumed she was still bringing medicine to "that Uchiha", as they liked to refer to him. If she didn't return on time, those who were informed of their get-togethers would automatically believe that something bad happened to her and it was the Uchiha's fault. That went with the territory, she supposed. Many of them didn't trust her judgment, but since her father was allowing it, all they could do was state an opinion. She ignored them all because they didn't know Ryosuki like she did; they didn't know that despite being an Uchiha, he was well-educated, intelligent, strong, and most importantly, didn't treat her as an enemy. She had one cousin that was completely on her side, but other than that, everyone thought she was being foolish.

As Kanae was rushing in the forest, weaving hastily among the trees and jumping over fallen ones and over rocks, she knew that it was going to get dark before she got home. In fact, she wasn't going to even get near before night would be upon her. She halted for a moment, her mind rapidly turning with ideas as to what she should do. She didn't bring any gear to bunker down in the forest. She bit into her bottom lip worryingly. Maybe she should risk the journey in the dark and hope she didn't run into any other shinobi.

In the dwindling light of the summer sun, she pulled a map out from her pack. After finding the general area she was currently in, she studied it more thoroughly, hoping to perhaps find a friendly place where she could stay. Because of her father and her clan, there were many acquaintances and associations the Senju had formed through all of the countries, especially in Fire Country.

A feeling of resentment swept through Kanae. If her father had not been so overprotective she would be more familiar of where those alliances were located. Right now, she knew she was literally in the middle of Fire Country deep in the woods. According to the map, approximately twenty-five clicks northwest was a small village. Kanae knew it was there. It was in the direction of her home, and though she always stayed in the forest while traveling alone, she always passed it by a few miles.

Tucking the map back into her pack she decided to stay there for the night.

After making the seals she chanted, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Before her, a very large, brown, black and gray bear appeared in loud _pop_ and a cloud of smoke. "Kanae-hime," it acknowledged before the fog cleared.

"Kuma," Kanae greeted, sounding both pleasant and nervous.

The bear's large black eyes scanned the area and then turned to query the princess.

"I just wanted you to go back home and tell my father that I lost track of time and won't be able to make it back tonight. Tell him I'll be staying at a small village called Fukui-mura, about twenty-five clicks northwest from Heiwa no Mori. First thing tomorrow morning, I will return home."

Kanae's summon stared at her blankly.

"What?" she asked anxiously.

"This is not a good idea, Kanae-hime."

Kanae frowned. "I know that, but I don't have a choice, do I?"

"We could travel back to the Senju estate together," the immense summon suggested.

"It's definitely not a good idea for me to be wandering around in the dark, even if it's with you," she argued. She walked up to the big fluffy creature. Her head barely reached his enormous chest as she strode directly to him and peered up into flint black eyes.

"I will be safe. Don't worry. If anything goes wrong I can summon you at a moment's notice. That's why you're my summon, after all." Kanae tried to make her tone as light-heartened and nonchalant as she could, hoping to pacify the bear's obviously growing disapproval.

"Alright, Kanae-sama. I will return to you when I get his...reply."

Kanae frowned again. "Okay, and tell him...tell him I'm sorry and that it was irresponsible and inexcusable of me to be so negligent of the time."

The humongous bear blinked his impassive eyes a few times, nodded slightly, and then disappeared in another puff of smoke.

Seeing Kuma again made her feel a little guilty. She didn't tell him about Ryosuki. Kuma and her father were in the running of who could be more overprotective of her, and even though her father accepted her weekly visits with the Uchiha, her summon might not.

Well, that was moot anyway. She was likely never to see Ryosuki again. With a long sigh and after heaving her pack more securely onto her shoulders, she trudged toward Fukui-mura.

* * *

><p>Running at shinobi speed, Kanae reached the small village in just a few hours. The sun had fully set during her trip but she was relieved beyond belief when she caught the first sight of lights in the distance, knowing it was her destination. When she neared the outskirts she used a henge and proceeded into the quaint little settlement. No one here would probably recognize her without using a transformation jutsu, but one could never be too careful.<p>

Having not eaten since she left her home earlier that day, she was ravenous, and wanted to stop somewhere for a bite, but hesitated. She had been training all day, she had summoned Kuma, she ran a few hours to get here while using chakra, and now she was using a henge. She deliberated on whether she had enough left to find something to eat before getting to an inn, but her uncomfortably empty and growling stomach was telling her that she better hurry and get some damn food. Luck favored the prepared, and if she happened to be found by enemies she would have more strength after having sustenance, not to mention it would help replenish her chakra reserves faster while she slept.

Fortunately, there was an inn that seemed decent and right next to it was a little stand that was obviously serving food, but Kanae didn't know what kind. It didn't matter though. She didn't have time to be picky. She waited until the last few patrons left then she went up to the counter.

"Hello dear," an old woman greeted her cordially. "What can I get for you?"

"Just an order of miso, sakana and rice to go, please," Kanae replied blandly, hoping the elderly lady would get the hint that she was in a hurry.

"Okay, coming right up."

Kanae wasn't sure if it was because she was up there in years and wasn't quite...lucid, or if she was just being obnoxious but she took her sweet old time putting the meal together. Kanae drummed her fingers along the granite counter top impatiently, discreetly looking around at the other buildings. There was probably no threat of danger in this small village but she refused to let her guard down. It made her think of Ryosuki. Even after all the months she spent getting to know him more, she could tell he never dropped his guard. It was a good thing, but in other ways Kanae wished he wasn't as timid as he was around her, though she could understand.

"Here you go, dear. Be careful, it's hot."

"Arigatou," Kanae said quickly, leaving the money on the counter, grabbing her dinner and practically making a bee-line for the inn she saw next door.

Rushing in she was relieved to see no other people in the inn's small lobby. She went directly up to the clerk's desk and a middle aged man with a rounded stomach looked up from a book.

"Hi, I just need a room with a single, please."

Wordlessly, the man got up off his chair and while he was procuring a key Kanae got her money out.

"That'll be 275 ryo."

Kanae pushed the money toward him and when he handed her the key she tried her hardest not to run toward the entrance leading to the rooms. This was the first time she was staying overnight away from her home just by herself. She was trembling slightly from nervousness, but her heart was palpitating slightly quicker than normal because of her excitement. She felt a little more grown-up, a little more like a capable kunoichi who could handle her own.

When she reached the stairs, thankful that he gave her a room on the second floor instead of the first, she booked it until she reached the hallway. If anyone was watching she wanted to appear comfortable, like this kind of circumstance was normal for her. She would be too easy of a target if she looked as nervous as she felt. She walked the remaining way to her room.

As soon as she was inside the door she released the henge. She was reaching the last of her reserves and wouldn't have been able to hold it for much longer.

After eating, she took a quick shower, also washing her clothes. She would sleep in just her tank top and underwear for the night, allowing the rest of her clothes to dry. It wasn't very prudent, but she didn't bring extras and didn't relish wearing dirty clothes for a return trip tomorrow. She briefly pictured herself getting attacked in the middle of the night, her assailants finding her in her underwear, and she let out a light giggle. More than likely she wasn't going to wake up in the dead of night to a bunch of enemy nin surrounding her bed, but you never know.

She settled in and glanced at the alarm clock on the side table. It was almost eleven. She wanted to get up at dawn and leave then. She would get at least seven hours of sleep. After yawning hugely she reached over and switched off the lamp. She slid into the blanket and tried a few different positions out until she was comfortable, but then found herself staring at the ceiling in thought, unable to fall asleep just yet.

She still really couldn't believe she was alone out here like this. So many of her clansmen did this all the time, but the novelty of the experience made Kanae excited and uneasy at once. Her cousin, who was her best friend, was allowed to leave the estate whenever she wanted without anyone escorting her. Kanae had always been jealous of that, but never begrudged it for her sake. There were times when she would be gone for weeks. As Kanae stared unseeingly up at the cratered wall, pale from the low luminescence of the moon filtering in through the thinly veiled window, she wondered how her cousin could stand it. She was bored and even felt lonely. She wished that Ryosuki was with her right-

Kanae's eyes widened at that thought. It was so completely random, but it immediately made her pulse accelerate.

Then she closed her eyes and imagined him lying next to her. In her mind's eye, she turned her body so she was facing him and they looked into each others' eyes. Like her, he had taken off most of his clothes, leaving him in just a pair of ninja slacks. On the really hot days, Ryosuki would sometimes train with her shirtless. Being a teenage girl and being a teenage girl with all sorts of curious inclinations about the opposite sex, she remembered feeling flustered, embarrassed and...desirous. He was so handsome and the muscles of his back, neck, shoulders, arms, chest and abdomen were certainly something to be admired. He was at the peak of his fitness, in enviable good shape...Kanae would say he was perfect, but that may have been her bias towards him speaking.

In her mind, she slowly reached out a hand to caress Ryo's face. He was lying on his side, his head propped up against a hand. His dark eyes were open and expansive; so many different emotions were clear in them. His black hair was tied back into a loose ponytail and she lightly swept away the pieces that fell into his eyes. He caught her wrist, slowly bringing her hand to his mouth. He closed his eyes and gently touched his lips to her palm. Kanae gasped lightly, both in her fantasy and in the real world.

Over the weeks they spent together she had started to daydream of him in ways like this. He was the first man that she had ever thought of in that way. The only...sexual...experiences she ever had was before she would go to sleep, unbeknownst to anyone, she would read romance stories. Of course, she witnessed the interactions of those in her clan that were married or in a relationship, but it wasn't the same. She wanted to experience something like this for herself, and while stories of unrequited passion and trysts were insightful, it was wholly unsatisfying.

A tear slid from the corner of Kanae's eye and ran down the side of her face until it dropped off onto the pillow. She couldn't believe it when Ryo had confessed to her that he returned her feelings, but was completely heartbroken after their last encounter. Part of the reason why she immersed herself in her training with chakra enhanced taijutsu was to get her mind of Ryo. During the day, she was occupied enough not to think of him, but it was at night that was the worst. This was the first night that she hadn't cried herself to sleep, although it was soon catching up.

She didn't want to cry. She wanted to keep thinking of Ryo in..._that_ way.

He continued to kiss against her hand, and then proceeded to her wrist and along her arm until his body was pressed right against hers. His lips moved over her shoulder, up along her neck and he halted when he reached her jaw line, but didn't stop his ministrations. Kanae felt his other hand move around her, resting on the small of her back, pulling her closer. She reciprocated by wrapping her arms around his neck, touching her lips to his cheek. For a while they laid that way, getting used to each other in this new, romantic sense.

God, she missed him so much. Those few kisses they shared weren't nearly enough. She wanted to be with him in more ways.

She imagined him slowly moving his hand over her hip, slowly, slowly making its way over her abdomen, up her side until he reached just under her breast. Kanae's breath hitched for a long moment, her heart pounding thunderously and her stomach tightening with anticipation of where his hand might go next...

The sudden _pop_ of a summon made Kanae bolt up into a sitting position, giving a short cry of alarm.

"Kanae-hime, it's just me," Kuma said from the edge of her bed, his enormous body towering in the closed space.

With her heart already knocking relentlessly against her ribcage, Kanae placed a hand on her chest and on her forehead.

"God, Kuma! You scared me!"

"I apologize, hime."

She swallowed hard then asked, "So? Did you talk to my father?"

"I informed Sataru-sama of what happened and where you were," the huge bear said, handing Kanae a scroll. "And he said it was good that you were actually here because he needed a correspondence to be delivered to the Fire Daimyo."

Kanae gasped. "He wants me to take the scroll to the Fire Daimyo?"

Kuma barely concealed his amusement with a knowing glint in his eyes. "Yes, Kanae-hime."

She had been on enough missions of this sort to know that the scroll was not to be opened. She smiled hugely while she got up, went over to her pack and placed the scroll in it.

"Okay...okay, tell him I said thanks and...that I won't fail him."

"I'm sure he will be happy to know that."

"I'm sure," Kanae easily agreed, taking the pack and stuffing it under the bed (just in case those enemy nin came while she slept, you know), then laid back down.

"Good luck, Kanae-hime," her summon wished.

"Thank you. Good-night and...thanks for...trusting me," she answered quietly.

She wondered if Kuma really trusted her. He had to obey her commands because she was his master, after all, but he didn't initially fly off the handle like she thought he would.

"Don't hesitate to summon me if something happens," was Kuma's response.

Kanae spared rolling her eyes. That went without saying.

"Okay," she replied evenly instead, then the large bear nodded and disappeared.

She glanced at the alarm clock again, and even though she wanted to keep thinking of Ryo, she didn't want to appear too sleep-deprived in front of the Fire Daimyo. She frowned, thinking of the clothes he would be seeing her in tomorrow. She really would rather have something nicer to wear, but that obviously wasn't attainable at the moment. Well, she could go buy new clothes, but that would require she find a much larger village with a wider variety than what this simple little village had to offer, and that was a definite no. She smiled wanly to herself as she imagined having this conversation with Ryo. He would be rolling his eyes at her right now.

Turning onto her side, she closed her eyes, and attempted to clear her mind, determined to go to sleep.

* * *

><p>Kanae woke up as the sky was turning into a mixture of gray and purple with the predawn, the birds chirping their morning songs. She never had trouble waking when she wanted so she hadn't bothered to set the alarm. After washing her face, putting on her dry clothes, tying her long dark blonde hair into a ponytail and slipping her pack on, she smiled to herself proudly as she left the inn in the most unconventional way: through the window. She had paid for a full night and there was no reason to see the innkeeper other than to return the key, so she left it on the dresser for him to see. She really felt like a ninja as she hoisted herself onto the rooftop and scanned the surrounding area. It was still too early for any other occupants of the village to be out. She pulled her map out and examined her current location and the Fire Daimyo's compound. If she ran on a shinobi's foot she could reach it by mid-morning. She could request to eat something when she got there.<p>

As she stuffed the map back into her pack and leapt off the roof, Kanae started to become a little nervous again. The Daimyo's estate was situated near a large trading town. She wouldn't have to pass through it in order to reach the compound, but the whole area in general was well populated. She would be easily recognized. She supposed she could use another henge, but any shinobi worth his or her salt would see through it immediately. It was almost downright insulting to attempt to disguise herself with something as rudimentary as a transformation jutsu. In fact, it might even bring on unnecessary suspicion so she decided not to use it and try and steer clear of as many people as possible.

The summer sun was hot and unabashed in sending down its merciless sweltering rays. By the time Kanae reached the trading town, her efforts significantly slowed because of the scorching heat, it was noon. She was sweaty, exhausted and starving when she approached the main gates. The guard, a shinobi by the looks of him, was leaning casually against the wall of his post with his arms crossed over his chest, obviously flirting with a group of civilian looking females. When Kanae was about to pass him she kept her face forward but she watched him in her periphery. Perhaps she would go unnoticed, but at the last second his head snapped up just as she was about to pass completely through the gates.

"Hey! Wait! You there! I have to process you before-" the ninja stopped and Kanae saw his perturbed look immediately change to one of wonder when she turned fully toward him.

"Uh...um, I-I'm sorry, Senju Kanae-hime," the man said apologetically before coming right up to her. "I didn't recognize you at first."

She refrained from rolling her eyes. One, because she didn't want the deference because she was a Senju and because she was the clan leader's daughter. Two, she knew he didn't recognize her because she probably looked damn awful.

Kanae waved a dismissive hand. "It's alright..." she said, eyeing the man with brows raised expectantly.

"Um...Ichigo! My name's Ichigo, Kanae-hime."

"It's alright, Ichigo-san. I'm here to deliver a correspondence to the Daimyo."

Ichigo tilted his head in confusion. "A _Senju_ correspondence? That's not supposed to arrive for a few days from now."

Kanae reached into her pack and withdrew the scroll, complete with Senju seal for proof. "I was in the area and my father requested that I make the side-trip before heading home."

"Ah. I see," Ichigo answered, but Kanae caught the mild look of discomfort he displayed.

"Is there a problem?"

"Uh...well, you see...you...probably shouldn't see the Daimyo right now."

Now Kanae's head tilted in bewilderment. "Why is that?"

The shinobi guard didn't answer right away. He turned back in the general direction of the Daimyo estate, looking worried as if someone might overhear him. "You shouldn't see him right now because an Uchiha arrived yesterday and I believe he's still there."

Kanae's eyes widened slightly at this news. "An Uchiha? Do you know whom?"

"Yes. He's been coming here for the past few months, bringing correspondence from his own clan. His name is-" but before Ichigo told her he frowned, looking uncertain again.

"Who is he? What's his name?" Kanae asked, trying not to let the desperation of her need to know come out in her tone.

"I don't know if I should tell you," Ichigo answered honestly.

Kanae scoffed. "I'm not here to spy or to tell anyone. My clan is aware that the Daimyo is associated with many different shinobi clans, the Uchiha included. And I'm sure they are aware of this, as well. It will not present a problem if I know who it is since I already know he's an Uchiha."

"Alright," Ichigo easily conceded. "His name is Uchiha Ryosuki."

Kanae nodded thoughtfully, and shrugged apathetically, as if the name meant nothing to her, but inside, her stomach clenched and her heart thumped a little more noticeably out of happiness and fear.

"But, as you suggested, you arriving a few days early shouldn't pose a problem. Go on in and I'll inform the sentry that you arrived."

Kanae gave a little bow. "Arigatou, Ichigo-san."

"You're-you're welcome, Kanae-hime," he replied bashfully, his cheeks reddening.

She gave him a forced smile and proceeded into the bustling town. She walked with the flow of the crowds, trying not to stand out in any obvious way, and she noted a few shocked looks here and there, but nobody identified her openly or approached her. She wanted to look like she had somewhere to be and she supposed it was working. However, having been to the Daimyo's estate many times in the past with her father and other various standing members of her clan, she knew she hadn't even reached halfway until she was apprehended.

"Kanae-hime," a member of the Guardian Shinobi Twelve greeted her in a flat voice. He was dressed in ninja sandals, leg belts, ninja slacks and a sleeveless tunic, all black. The only other color he wore was white, and that consisted of the obi that tied around his tunic and the ever-present Guardian Shinobi Twelve loincloth. Kanae almost blanched. Was she that important to send out one member of the Daimyo's exclusive guard to meet her personally? When she came here previously she and her entourage were never treated with that level of preference.

"Yes?"

"I'm here to escort you the remaining way."

"Of course," Kanae replied, waving her hand forward. "Please lead the way."

The trip was silent between them and that left Kanae with her thoughts. Was this for protection, and if so, for whom? For her or for Ryosuki? Her heart was beating with a determination to crack her ribcage, knowing in just a few minutes she might see the object of her affections, the only man she really wanted to see but thought she was never going to see again. What a terrible coincidence this was! Not only might Ryo think that she came here on purpose because she had the knowledge that he was here, but they also had to interact as...people who were a part of enemy clans. She was to remain reserved and perhaps even displeased with his presence. That reality disheartened her. She didn't want to pretend to not know and not like Ryo.

Silently they passed through the Daimyo's estate gates, the man guiding her nodding to the sentinels maintaining watch. She noticed some of them looked surprised when they noted whom their comrade was accompanied by, but no one spoke their thoughts aloud.

When they finally went inside, Kanae audibly sighed with relief at the first feeling of the air-conditioned room touching her skin.

"I will inform the Daimyo of your arrival. Please wait here," the shinobi said. He promptly turned and walked across the room to a pair of ornately carved mahogany doors and disappeared through them.

Kanae sat down in a chair that was inlaid with gold, the fabric on the seat and the back beautifully woven with pictures of baby cherubs playing harps on clouds. She felt slightly bad for it, since she was grimy and sweaty, but that's what the chairs were used for, right? She may have been a princess, but she was not used to seeing this much extravagance. That was reserved for the Feudal Lords of the Five Great Countries and their families, or the extremely wealthy.

That made her think of a general topic of conversation her father has had with the elders and council of the clan. If it wasn't for the Daimyo's reliance on the shinobi clans, they wouldn't live in such opulence. She had even been privy to some clandestine meetings that brought about the prospect of gathering all of the shinobi clans to be united as one body, independent from the rule of the Feudal Lords. They could all congregate in one location to settle, choosing a leader from among them, _by_ them.

Kanae, still being young, didn't have much experience and dealings with politics in regards to the ninja clans and the Feudal Lord's dependence on them, but she had learned from her father that, overall, they relied on shinobi for most of the assistance in almost every aspect in governing a country. Not only as tools in warfare and protection, but socially and economically, as well. However, that heavy reliance came at a price for the shinobi. They were often taken advantage of and left to inadvertently or unwittingly maintain rivalries, the Senju and Uchiha being the perfect example. If the shinobi clans were to combine forces and form an alliance with a common goal, they all could remove themselves from the supremacy of the Daimyos. It was certainly ideal, but strictly hypothetical at this point in time. This was the era of war. So many clans were fighting against each other for dominance and vengeance.

Kanae had already thought over what a federation between the Senju and Uchiha could bring to her and Ryosuki personally. They could be together without any fear of repercussions. But right now, that just wasn't feasible. Ryosuki was so far removed from the typical grudging, obstinate indoctrination of his clan that it gave Kanae slight hope, but it made her weary contemplating on approaching her father with the idea.

Kanae's palms felt slick with sweat at the thought that Ryo was currently somewhere nearby, perhaps just on the other side of those doors she saw the other shinobi go through. She placed her hands on her thighs, sliding them down along her shorts, attempting to get rid of the moisture.

At the sound of the doors opening Kanae stood abruptly and watched as the same man who escorted her emerge and walk directly toward her.

"The Daimyo is pleased with your presence, Kanae-hime; however, he is currently detained in meetings all day. He requests that you stay here at the compound and join him for dinner later."

Kanae smiled blithely. "Of course."

"He requests that you make yourself comfortable in our accommodations until that time. Please follow me."

She was only too eager to agree with his offer. The member of the Shinobi Guardian Twelve lead her through the immaculate and affluent Daimyo mansion. They passed by the breathtaking gardens and Kanae admired them delightedly, thinking after cleaning up and a nap she might go visit them before her meal with the Daimyo.

They reached the area that housed the distinguished guests. Kanae had been here many times before and knew exactly where he was taking her.

"Please make yourself comfortable. Someone will come for you when dinner is ready to be served," he told her when they stopped in front of a room.

"Arigatou," Kanae said.

The shinobi gave a small bow, turned and walked back down the corridor, immediately disappearing around a corner.

When she entered the lavish room she took it in for a few seconds. But a shower was the first priority so she placed her pack on the bed and went to the bathroom. The first thing she saw was the rather large tub. Suddenly, the thought a bath sounded much more appealing. After cranking on the water she undressed while it filled. When she settled in the steaming pool, she instantly relaxed. All the training and the traveling she had been doing in the last few days was quickly catching up with her and she laid her head back, succumbing to the soothing, relaxing calm of the bath. However, she really needed to clean herself, so she forced her eyes open, reached for the shampoo, and washed her hair and herself.

She could have easily fallen asleep but didn't want to do that, so she got out shortly, dried her hair with a towel, wrapped it around her body and grabbed her clothes on the way out.

Kanae's jaw dropped and she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw she wasn't alone in her quarters.

Ryosuki sat in a chair in the corner of the room. He was looking down; his eyes were downcast, but the haughty smirk he displayed told Kanae he knew she had stepped out of the bathroom. When he looked up she almost giggled at his expression. It was obvious he didn't expect her to come out in only a towel. His wide eyes roamed freely over her nearly naked body.

She was about to light up the room with a resplendent smile, but when she saw what occupied his hands her eyes widened incredulously.

"What the hell are you doing with that?" she asked, pointing an indignant finger at him.

Ryosuki glanced down at the scroll in his hands and looked back up, allowing his eyes to once again sweep over her barely covered body. "What does it look like I'm doing with it?" he responded mischievously.

Kanae gasped. "You didn't read it, did you?" she asked furiously, stomping over to him. He got up and she stopped when they were separated by a foot, him towering over her.

"What if I did?" he answered with a teasingly wicked smirk playing at the corner of his mouth.

"This isn't a joke. I was tasked with delivering it to the Daimyo," she snapped, attempting to grab the scroll from him.

Ryosuki easily stepped away from her and suddenly the atmosphere in the room changed from playful to solemn.

"I was tasked with intercepting this transmission before it got the Daimyo," he replied seriously. "I know this isn't a joke."

"Give it back," Kanae seethed, her heartbeat echoing loudly in her ears and adrenaline racing through her body in anticipation of an altercation.

Ryosuki smirked arrogantly again. "Are you going to make me?" he asked lowly, deliberately letting his eyes travel along her nearly unclothed frame once again.

In spite of the fact that he currently held crucial information from the Senju for the Fire Country Daimyo that was a for-your-eyes-only level of significance, Kanae couldn't help but blush tremendously at Ryosuki's open display of pleasure at her current...condition.

"Did you read it?" she asked quietly, looking intensely up into his dark, penetrating orbs.

Instead of answering her verbally, he merely tapped the closed scroll against his palm. It didn't appear to have been opened, but that didn't mean it hadn't been already.

Kanae once again took a swipe at the scroll but he was too fast. He caught her wrist in his hand. She gasped, trying to wrench her hand back, but his hold was firm.

"So you're here in my room to steal the scroll from me?" she hissed.

"Actually, no. There were rumors buzzing around of the Senju clan's princess coming for an unexpected visit. I came to see if they were true." Again, his gaze wandered up and down her body. "Apparently it is."

She kept her eyes locked on the Uchiha's.

"I can't let you take that scroll," she whispered fiercely.

He leaned forward until his lips were right against hers. "What're you going to do?"

Kanae knew he wasn't trying to be intimate. He was trying to intimidate.

Being a kunoichi, she was well versed in the various ways a kunoichi can use more..._subtle_...tactics of persuasion. She could punch him in the jaw again, or she could do something a hundred times more powerful, a hundred times more effective.

She closed the small distance, pressing her lips hard onto his. A second passed where there was no reaction, but then Ryosuki dropped the scroll, grabbing Kanae's face and intensifying the kiss.

However, Kanae hadn't realized this sort of scheme tends to backfire when the one who originally planned to deceive was eagerly returning the attention. She didn't care anymore, though. This was exactly what she wanted.

The reality that they were both here, merely by coincidence, and alone was energizing Kanae's mounting excitement. It appeared that Ryosuki was just as eager because his actions were rushed and she was having difficulty keeping up with him. He moved swiftly until her back hit the wall and he pressed himself up against her. She took hold of his biceps, somewhat unsure of where to put her hands. His kisses were intense and passionate and she was both thrilled and self-conscious of his attention. She had never kissed anyone like this before. Ryosuki was the first man she had ever kissed. In the midst of their actions, she realized that he seemed to know what he was doing because he was dominating her pretty well.

When she felt his tongue slide along the seam of her lips she finally pulled away, her relieved lungs taking in the much needed oxygen.

"What's wrong?" he immediately asked, his voice gruff and breathless.

She stared at their feet. She couldn't look at him. She felt her face grow warm.

"I'm sorry. If you don't want to do this-"

"No!" Kanae responded urgently, finally meeting his eyes. "No...it's-it's not that I don't want to do this..." she trailed off quietly. Ryosuki's brow furrowed slightly in confusion.

"It's just that...um..."

She cast her eyes to the floor again. This was really embarrassing.

When she felt Ryosuki take hold of her chin and he gently lifted she complied, her eyes finding his.

"You've...never done this before," he said softly, the statement more rhetorical than a question.

Kanae nodded, heat spreading further along her cheeks.

"It's okay. If you don't want to do this-"

"I do," she answered quickly. "I just...I'm not sure what to do..."

Ryosuki analyzed her in his very intense way.

"Are you sure?" he asked lowly.

In response, Kanae lifted herself on tiptoes and gently pressed her lips to his. "Let's just...take it slow," she said softly after she pulled away.

He nodded and leaned down again. This time, the kiss was deep, meaningful, yet still filled with a zealousness that made Kanae's heart drum loudly and rapidly. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled until she was flush against him. Her arms went around his neck and she gently stroked his nape. She heard him make a low, rumbling sound. She smiled against his lips.

He suddenly pulled away and lifted her off the ground, carrying her bridal-style. She emitted a small sound of surprise and she saw all of the heady emotions in his eyes. They were determined, yearning, and fierce. It caused Kanae's breath to pause in awe. She had never seen that look in him before. Most of the time he either appeared impassive or arrogant, but his eyes seemed to be conveying a deep want of something. Of her, she supposed. She could only stare helplessly into them as he continued to carry her. Finally, when he stopped she noticed it was at the bed. Her eyes widened at the realization of _exactly_ where this was going.

He seemed to notice. "If you don't want to do this, it's okay-"

"Stop saying that," she responded shortly.

He frowned slightly. "I don't want to make you do anything you're not comfortable with."

She rolled her eyes. "You're not making me do anything I don't want to do. I..." She cast her eyes away uncertainly. "...I...you don't know how many times I've thought about this. About us. Like this."

He nodded, fully comprehending. Slowly he set her down and sat on the bed. He took a hold of her hips and turned her toward him, pulling her until her legs were between his. He ran his hands lightly over her hips, her waist and her abdomen. Slowly, experimentally, he reached around until they were over her rear. He watched her reaction the entire time. She blushed furiously, the urge to turn away from him in bashfulness strong, but she maintained eye contact with him.

Her breathing started to become shallower when he reached around the front again. He grasped the ends of the towel and she knew what his intentions were.

This was insane! He was actually going to see her naked!_ No_ man had ever seen her naked like this before. Her panting had reached a point where she thought she might hyperventilate, but she was resolved to allow this to happen. She placed her hands over Ryosuki's and his eyes, once fixated on the place where the towel would be opened, shot up to meet hers. She smiled slightly in encouragement, hoping she appeared braver than she felt. Together, inch by slow inch the towel was peeled away and it dropped unceremoniously to the floor.

Kanae shifted her weight awkwardly, keeping her eyes locked on Ryo's, using every ounce of determination and self-control not to cover herself. He stared amazed at her naked skin, his eyes shifting hungrily up and down. His hands, once again, went to her waist and they moved slowly along her sides.

"Damn," was all he said.

"What?" she asked uneasily, biting into her bottom lip.

"You're fucking beautiful."

Heat invaded her face once again. "Thank you," she responded shyly.

He seemed to be hesitating. His hands moved restlessly over her waist and stomach, but his eyes were focused on her chest. Kanae got the hint. He probably wanted to touch her breasts but didn't want to seem like a pig. She almost giggled.

She took a hold of his hands and helped drift them along her stomach and the skin over her ribcage and she paused for one long, agonizing second before she placed them over her breasts. She heard him suck in a huge breath and he immediately started to knead. Kanae felt desire gradually rove throughout her body, leaving her skin buzzing and the hairs on her arms stand on end. She really enjoyed the look of complete rapture on Ryo's face.

His thumbs gently swept over her nipples and a sharp jolt of lust and heat shot directly to her core. She had felt aroused before, but this was almost otherworldly. She emitted a small gasp of pleasure and Ryo immediately did it again, and Kanae felt her knees weaken and her insides liquefy.

"Does that feel good?" he rasped.

"Y-yeah," she answered, tilting her head back slightly and closing her eyes. Over and over his thumbs caressed the pink buds and her legs started to tremble. To steady herself she wrapped her arms around his neck, stepping up to him so his face was inches from her chest.

Kanae let out a soft cry when she felt something warm and moist enclose a nipple and she looked down in utter alarm and titillation to see his mouth working on her.

"Oh my god..." she gasped. Internally, the place near her sex started to clench and unclench, throbbing and aching with...want. No. Not want. _Need_.

As she watched Ryo's tongue swirl around the small, protruding button it felt like her perception of the time of the universe was slowly ebbing away into nothingness. Where they were..._who_ they were was completely meaningless. All that mattered was this and what he was doing to her.

Kanae's fingers wove into his hair and she pulled the tie out, smoothing her hands through his long strands.

Her treatment seemed to spark something inside of him, and suddenly his actions turned crazed, hungry. He abruptly stood up, almost knocking Kanae back, and he took her face into his hands and kissed her feverishly. Once again, she felt his tongue touch her lips and she timidly met him. He took the opening and his tongue fully delved into her mouth. She let out a sound of dismay but stayed with him. He was going a little too fast for her and the kissing was turning wet and sloppy. A little bit of a turnoff, but she continued to try and meet his pace.

He suddenly pulled away and she watched him pull his shirt over his head, throwing it somewhere. Hastily he unstrapped his weapons holster and it fell to the wooden floor with a hard thud. Next he went for the buttons on his pants and finally Kanae's mind came back to her fully and her eyes widened. She instantly put her hands over his.

"Wait," she said in a large exhale, panic finally making its way into her tone. Ryosuki looked up to her and Kanae was startled at the unrestrained veracious look in them.

"Are we...? Do you want to...?" Kanae wasn't sure what she was asking. How far were they going to go? Did he want to have sex with her? _Had_ he had sex before?

His feral eyes turned a little more gentler as he regarded her. "Yes," he replied through gritted teeth. "I want to make love to you."

Kanae's breath caught and her heart beat mercilessly in her chest. He just said 'make love.' He wanted to _make love_ to her.

She could only stare up at him with wide eyes. Of course, what they were doing would only lead to that, but she was so inexperienced, so..._virginal_. Even in her fantasies of them she never thought that far because she had absolutely no idea what it looked like. She had a general understanding, of course, but theories were so much different than the real thing.

She didn't realize she was shaking her head until she spoke.

"Ryo...I'm...I'm not..." Tears stung her eyes at her cowardice.

She closed her eyes tightly and cast her face down, suddenly feeling very ashamed. She wasn't even sure why.

As Ryo did when he wanted to get her attention, he took hold of her chin and pulled upward.

"We don't have to," he told her steadily.

Kanae looked up and nodded, readily assenting with that thought. "Can you...can you just...keep touching me?" she asked softly, almost pleading.

The huge smile that adorned his features almost took her breath away.

"If you want me to."

"Yes, I want you to," she answered pleasurably, momentarily shivering from remembering what it felt like when his tongue licked her nipple and his mouth sucked on it.

She didn't have a chance to take another breath before he lifted her and settled her carefully onto the bed. His eyes glanced over her naked form again before he placed a knee on the bed, leaning over her. Kanae sighed in blissful contentment and relief. She could do this, but wasn't quite ready for sex.

* * *

><p>To be continued...<p>

A/N: Kuma: bear. Yeah, I named Kanae's bear...bear.

According to Narutowiki - which is a surprisingly good resource for all things Naruto related - when Senju Hashirama is the leader of the clan, because of his Wood Release jutsu, the Senju is nicknamed _Mori no Senju Ichizoku_, meaning the Senju Clan of the Forest. So, I tried to think of a woodland creature that would make an awesome summon, and a bear came to mind. I wouldn't mind a giant bear summon assisting me in a ninja battle ;)

Also according Narutowiki, Tsunade is said to have created the chakra enhanced taijutsu, but for the sake of my story, lets just say Kanae develops it ;)

As always, thanks to silver-footsteps for the beta. You do a really good job and I appreciate it (:


	5. Caprice

Explicit lemon ahead. Ye be warned.

* * *

><p>Ryosuki considered his motives of why he wanted to be with Kanae as he further explored the smooth, creamy expanse of her body.<p>

It had been absolute, pure torture to train with her for all of those months. She was quite well-endowed, and he had been forced to exercise his self-control to its maximum whenever they were in close contact sparring. It was difficult not to notice the slight line of her cleavage peeping out from the top of her ninja tunic. It was difficult not to notice how her bountiful breasts bounced and swayed with her movements.

She was thin, petite, and her almost abnormal voluptuousness made their encounters challenging, almost laborious as he used every infinitesimal amount of effort not to focus on her chest.

But right at this moment as he leaned over her, catching the slight disquiet emotion in her eyes, nibbling lightly into the ivory column of her neck, he massaged a large, soft globe, attempting not to rush his actions as his desire crested to near uncontrollable levels.

She was so damn beautiful. In their first meeting he had acknowledged it as she knelt over him and healed him. Well, first he had noted how she had shown him unsolicited kindness, and at the time it had baffled him. As he watched her heal him, he couldn't help but take into account how extraordinarily lovely she was.

He heard her emit a soft sigh and he looked up briefly to see her eyes were closed, her pink, swollen lips slightly parted. That sight galvanized his actions into learning her body with more vigor and he trailed his mouth down to the other breast, taking her nipple into his mouth. He felt her body jolt slightly and she sighed again.

This was the last thing he had expected to happen when he came here to the Daimyo's compound. He thought last week was going to be their last encounter.

Over the time spent apart he lamented the loss. She had become a friend; someone that he felt more comfortable and at ease around. He thought a large portion of it had to do with her nature since he had never met anyone like her, but he also knew it was because of how they interacted together. They just...seemed to get along. For the most part.

A transient feeling of guilt invaded him as he thought about how he had treated her. Those first few meetings he had been cruel, unnecessarily so. She didn't want to harm him and all he wanted was to meet the nefarious expectations of his clan that he kill any Senju he came across. The fact that he was considering the Uchiha's edict in a negative manner would create a world of trouble and hardships if his clan ever knew.

Kanae never openly expressed how draconian she thought his clan was, but he could see it in her eyes when they talked about their families. His own mother, at times, had disclosed the very same notion to him. If anyone from the clan would become aware of such heresy his mother would pay it for dearly. She came from a clan much like the Uchiha, but for some reason his mother was set apart from their mentality and behavior.

At first, he was torn with what to think of Kanae. That vacillation made him feel anxious, out of control, so he reflexively dominated her, wanting to establish himself as the stronger of the two. All he had done was hurt her, however, because she didn't want to feel superior to him. She just wanted to act as if their first meeting never happened.

As the months passed and the compulsion to keep the dominance subsided, he found that he could trust and confide in her, gaining her understanding and sympathy for...whatever. His clansmen were suspicious and judgmental perfunctorily, always keeping their guards up out of duty to the clan, even amongst themselves. There was little encouragement or consolation for mistakes or weaknesses. He was an Uchiha, born and bred to be a reserved tool used for warfare. Emotions were useless and detracted from gaining strength and power. Love was regarded as a superficial concept. For the love of the clan, you unerringly and unquestionably obeyed orders.

As Ryosuki's mouth detached from Kanae's nipple and he kissed a path along the flawless plane of her stomach, he realized he had more of an understanding of what love was than many of his clansmen. His mother had rooted the idea into him all of his life, and whether she did it inadvertently or deliberately out of spite for the clan, it didn't matter to him. He found that _this_ form of domination was significantly better, more poignant that than of maintaining the control because he received something hundreds of times more fulfilling in return: the sweet affection and care from a beautiful princess.

When Kanae had kissed him that first time and expressed her feelings for him, he had immediately quashed the idea of them being together for her own safety, but that didn't diminish his own desire to be with her. In just the few short months they spent together she had bewitched him, and when he returned home and entrusted the information of their weekly meetings to the only person, besides Kanae, he knew would understand - his mother - her encouragement only fanned the flames of his want to be with her.

Learning that she was here, currently in the same place he was, he believed fate was granting him undeserved favoritism.

He came to her room intending to visit. He wondered if she knew he was there. He knew he shouldn't go in, but he couldn't resist the opportunity. When he knocked there was no answer, but he could feel her signature inside, so he took the liberty of letting himself in and, as he guessed, she was in the bathroom.

Just as he hadn't expected to see her here, he didn't anticipate her coming out of the bathroom in only a towel.

"Ryo, what're you doing?" Kanae asked breathlessly. He looked up from where his lips hovered just over the hairs of her sex.

She had admitted to him she had never done anything like this. What he had planned might be too much for her at this point in time. If she wasn't ready for sex, he wanted to make her cum from a different method.

"Do you mind if I...taste you?"

Her eyes widened at the question. Ryosuki focused his gaze intensely into hers. "If you don't want me to do that, it's fine."

She bit into her bottom lip in uncertainty. "Well, it's just..."

He moved back up along her body until his face was level with hers. He lightly brushed her damp hair away from her face.

"You just seem so...experienced," she finished quietly, frowning deeply.

Ah. She must have surmised he had been with other women. It was unfortunate that she had surmised correctly. He didn't know how to answer, so he just settled for looking into her eyes. She studied his with equal intensity, searching for the truth in them. After a few moments she nodded to herself and looked away, blushing.

Ryosuki wasn't sure if she was self-conscious by her realization that it was true or insecure of her own inexperience. He gently caressed her cheek.

"Does that bother you?" he asked softly.

Her large, gold eyes met his briefly before looking away again. "A little," she admitted in a small voice.

Part of him felt slightly indignant. He was a grown man. Did she expect him to be completely innocent? Then he closely studied her silky skin, gently stroking his thumb along the delicate surface. _She_ was pure. He supposed he could understand her displeasure in it. The carnal, testosterone-laden part of him that was male was excited at the prospect of being with a woman who had never been with any other man, that she was willing to give this part of herself to _him_.

Ryosuki reached over, grasped the end of the blanket, pulling it over them. He wrapped an arm around the women next to him and brought her against his side. For a long moment she looked at him in confusion, but he just placed a hand behind her head and gently pulled her toward him, and she got the hint, resting her head on his chest.

They were silent and contemplative for a long while. Ryosuki had gathered that things between them were probably moving too fast for her, so he could settle for being with her this way. For now.

"So, does that mean you changed your mind?" she asked, her fingers creating random patterns on his stomach.

He didn't answer her right away. All week he had pondered that very same question. If they were to continue a hidden relationship, one of three things would happen: they would cultivate it for a while, but the passion and excitement of their secret trysts would grow tiresome and weary, causing it to become stagnant since they wouldn't be able to move forward. Next, they could run away together, but he would never take her from her clan, and while his sense of duty for his own had depreciated slightly in the last few months, if he were to disappear, his clan would seek him out. If his clansmen found him, they would kill him and Kanae. The last thing that could happen was he could attempt to tell his clan of what happened between them, but he already knew what the outcome of that would be. There really was no happy ending for them. Indulging in this was purely selfish and he knew he should have practiced more self-control, but he really wanted to see her. He missed her smile, her remarkable gold eyes, her charm, wit, and most of all, her loving and tender nature.

"We shouldn't be doing this," he answered mechanically. He felt her nod against his chest. Her immediate acquiescence told him she had thought about all of this, too, and had come to the same conclusion. After a few moments he heard her sniffle and he knew she was crying. He held her closer, moving a hand soothingly through her hair. This wasn't a tragedy, but it felt like it. As she had said the last time they were together, 'it was unfair.'

She looked up at him with shiny eyes, lashes moist from tears. When she leaned in and kissed him, it spoke volumes of her decision. Though they should probably discontinue this right now she was ignoring her judgment. And he wasn't going to stop her.

She moved so her naked torso was pressed against his, and his hands slid up and down the satiny skin of her back.

He could tell she was attempting to gain experience at her own pace, and he let her. Her kisses were short and testing, but after a while she pressed her lips more firmly against his, lingering longer. When he felt her tongue glide across his bottom lip, he opened for her slowly, allowing the passion to gradually grow between them.

He took her face into his hands, gently tilted her head to the side and swept his tongue fully against hers, showing her an easier, and more passionate way of kissing. She let out a little sound of pleasure and met him eagerly. For not having much experience, she was pretty good.

For a while they simply continued in this manner, getting to know each other more at this much slower rate. Ryosuki thought that may have been wise. He wouldn't want to leave here after having made love to her with the possibility that he may never see her again.

When they separated, she laid her head on his chest and they were silent again, just simply holding each other, until he asked, "So, why is it someone as beautiful as you has never been with anyone?"

Her head instantly popped up to look at him, and she appeared somewhat startled at the question. Then, just like her, she blushed tremendously and looked away, abashed. His thumb brushed lightly over her lovely blush.

"I don't know. I guess I was always too focused on my studies." Her eyes met his. "Also...I was never interested in anyone. Until now."

He surveyed her eyes, looking deeply into them. Then he grasped her chin and brought her mouth to his. She wrapped her arms around his neck and they continued to kiss, slowly, but hungrily.

When he brushed his hand along her side she pulled away, giggling.

"Ticklish?" he asked, amused.

She giggled again, and he noted how she seemed to be more comfortable. She was smiling at him and it made his pulse quicken. His hands continued to caress her face. Her eyes softened as they gazed at each other. He wondered if this was what it felt like to be in love.

He had used a lot of time to question that this past week. When she had told him that she had never felt this way about anyone before, those words struck him deeply. He knew exactly what she was talking about. Even before their mutual feelings had been revealed, he found himself impatient, eager for their next meeting. In the beginning, when he thought about her, the frequency with which it occurred alarmed him, but as the months passed he realized it was a losing battle. Everything about her enamored him and right now he wanted to risk being with her than staying away.

While the reminder of why they shouldn't, and really couldn't, be together was grounded in his subconscious, he kept it there, putting his infatuation for Kanae at the forefront of his thoughts.

He leaned down to resume their kissing, but she backed away slightly, frowning again. He raised a brow in query.

"So, about the scroll..." she said cautiously.

Yes, they still had that issue to deal with.

"I already told you that my assignment was to intercept it."

"That doesn't make sense. The Daimyo is expecting it. If he knows the scroll is missing it would only be a matter of time before it was traced back to you."

Once again, he was impressed with how sharp she was, though he knew he shouldn't have been. Many, many times over the past few months all she had demonstrated was her ability to think quickly.

"I had a plan," he told her in a deadpan.

He thought she looked cute when she jutted her bottom lip out in a pout and her eyes narrowed.

"So you're really going to take it from me?"

"I suppose I can't if you can stop me."

"What would I have to do to stop you?"

"Use force."

She frowned again. "You know I would never hurt you."

That was another reason why they shouldn't be together: conflict of interest. She really should use every measure she was capable of using, even drastic ones, to make sure he didn't take the scroll, and now, as he watched her once gentle eyes turn hard and he sensed her anger with him, he was tempted to purposely fail his mission for her. He blinked a few times in shock at the thought. He would choose to disobey an order so she wouldn't be mad at him? He hadn't realized how deep he was in until now.

He sat in thought for a little while. When he finally looked back up she had turned away from him, upset.

"There's another way," he told her.

"Oh, so you have _another_ plan that includes you taking the scroll?" she asked scornfully. "I don't want to hear it."

"I have to take the scroll," he said, touching her shoulder to turn her back to him. She pulled away. "But that doesn't mean my clan has to see its true content."

She whipped around, her eyes narrowin. "How are you going to do that?"

He kept a heavy gaze focused on her. "I can copy the handwriting with my sharingan and create another correspondence-"

"How does that solve anything?" she asked, exasperated. "That's probably how you were going to be able to take the scroll in the first place, right? So you had a copy and the Daimyo had the original-"

"You didn't let me finish," Ryosuki said, slight annoyance seeping into his tone.

Kanae rolled her eyes and made a gesture with her hand to let him know he could continue.

"The best kind of lie is one that incorporates as much truth as possible without giving away crucial details. I will write another correspondence that won't include any information that will harm your clan."

For a long moment Kanae just stared at him with wide eyes. Then, her mouth parted slightly in wonder.

"You would do that? You would risk lying to your clan?"

"It wouldn't be lying, exactly," he mumbled in response.

She gave a short huff of what sounded like relief and happiness and she practically pounced on him, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

"Oh, Ryo! That's just...that's..."

"A thank you will suffice," he grumbled.

"Thank you!"

She started to pepper soft little kisses onto his face and neck and his desire once again rose exponentially. He took her face into his hands and pressed his lips to hers in demand. They sank back down onto the bed together and he moved over her, nudging her legs apart with his knee so he could settle on top of her. This was the most intimate position they had been in yet and he discreetly rubbed his erection against her naked center. Instantaneously she moaned.

"Are you sure you don't want me to make love to you?" he rasped, continuing to press himself into her.

"I...I..." she moaned again. "I don't...know..."

She was losing whatever battle she was fighting in resisting him. He knew it. His lips found her neck and when he reached her pulse point he sucked gently. She let out another sound of pleasure.

The little sounds she made and the look of rapture on her face were almost too much for him. Her body was nubile, seemingly ready to be taken. He could only imagine, once he readied her so he could be inside her comfortably, how hot and tight she would be. He felt his cock twitch in desire at the idea.

"Please Kanae," he whispered against her collarbone. He had thought he could leave here without copulation, but he was losing, too. If she stopped him now he just might go insane.

She stilled and hesitated. It was just as he feared, and he looked up to see her expression. His heart gave one hard, eager thump at the look on her face. He thought he would have seen uneasiness, but she appeared determined. She reached between them and started to unbutton his pants.

He immediately sat up onto his knees, his hands replacing hers, wanting to get his last remaining article of clothing off as soon as possible. She sat up, too.

"Wait, hold on," she laughed breathlessly, pushing his hands out of the way. She wanted to do it.

He watched in fascination as she worked to get it off, slowly pulling them down over his hips. When they couldn't go any further she gently pushed him down so his back met the bed and she proceeded to take them all the way off. Now he was left in only his boxers and his heart started to hammer harder when she didn't hesitate to go for those.

When he was completely naked he watched her closely as she inspected him. Being a healer she had probably seen plenty of naked males before. He wondered if she had seen an _aroused _naked male before. Her face was expressionless as she took him in, her observation seemingly clinical, but after a few long moments she slowly reached a hand out and wrapped it around his hard length. He sucked in a sharp breath and when she started to move up and down, he laid back fully and closed his eyes, succumbing to the heat and pleasure that started to course through his body more feverishly.

"Does that feel good?" she asked, repeating the same question he had asked her before.

"Yes," he drawled out in a whisper.

Her pace accelerated and her grip tightened and he instantly sat up, catching her wrist. She shot him a panicked look.

"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly, probably thinking she did something that displeased him.

"Nothing," he answered, taking hold of her shoulders and lowering her to the bed. "If you kept going I would have left you behind."

"Left me behind?" she asked, confused, and he almost smirked at her innocence. She really was inexperienced.

"I would have cum before you," he answered her more directly.

Her eyes widened and she blushed. "Oh."

He settled atop her again and he loved the way she immediately accommodated him by opening her legs. He took her face into his hands again, softly stroking her cheeks, locking his eyes into hers.

"This will probably hurt."

"I know," she replied. "I'm a healer. I'm well acquainted with the human body."

He smirked. "Of course."

"I've...I've already thought about this. You know...having sex for the first time," she told him shyly. "There's something I can do that will make it less painful."

"What is it?" he asked curiously.

"I can...use chakra...down there."

Ryosuki thought for a moment. "You can do that?"

"Yes. I have pretty good chakra control and I can concentrate it in that area. Although..." she trailed off hesitantly, biting into her bottom lip.

"What?"

"Well, not only will it be less painful, it will take away most sensations."

He nodded in comprehension. In his own experience of being healed he knew that healers could convert their chakra to numbing energy.

"You're going to anesthetize yourself?"

"Yes, and the problem is then I won't feel much at all."

"I suppose that's better than feeling pain." He thought again for a long moment. "Have you ever touched yourself?"

He almost chuckled when her cheeks were instantly inflamed in a bright crimson. "Um...uh...yes..."

"Have you ever cum that way?"

This time she cast her eyes away, nodding slightly.

He brought her attention back to him by tilting her chin. "You don't have to be embarrassed about it with me."

She blushed further. "I know."

He thought she looked so beautiful.

"Ready?"

She nodded again and he leaned in to capture her lips with his. He put a hand between them, touching her inner thigh. She jumped slightly at the contact.

"It's alright," he whispered against her lips. He moved inward until his fingertips brushed against her womanhood. She squirmed a little and he could tell she was trying hard not to break the kiss.

He backed away. "Let me help you relax, okay?"

She responded by inhaling a large breath and exhaled it. She did this three more times and then he could see her visibly loosen her stiff posture. She laid her head back onto the pillow and when he allowed his body to press completely against her, he could feel how pliant she allowed herself to become.

"That's good, Kanae. I'm going to use my fingers to get you ready for me, okay?"

"Alright," she breathed, her hands starting to smooth through his hair. This was good. She wanted him to do this.

His lips went to her neck again, and they traveled lower until they reached a breast and he took a nipple into his mouth, gently sucking. One of his hands wrapped around her and the other hand was on her hip. He could feel them rocking slowly and that was a good sign. He moved that hand until it was at her sex again and this time he slid his index finger along her slit. He was surprised to feel she was already slick. Slowly he pushed the finger in and her hips rocked harder and her back arched. It went in easily so he inserted another. He delved until he could find the piece of tissue that signified her virginity, to see if it was still there. If she had pleasured herself, then she may have already taken care of that for him. He did find it, however, so he put in a third finger and gently pushed against the obstruction. She immediately let out a little sound of pain. She was so hot and she clenched tightly around his fingers.

Next, his thumb sought and found the place above her sex that would really help wet her in preparation for his entry. When he started to rub slow circles around the little button, her back arched again and she let out a long, heavy moan.

He would make her cum this way first because chances were she wasn't going to with him inside her. He steadily rubbed against her clit while his fingers inside continued their own ministrations. His tongue moved in time with his thumb and it was only minutes before he sensed the signs of her oncoming orgasm.

Every time she exhaled, she let out a heady moan, groan or sigh. Her hips started to move erratically and her legs twitched spasmodically. He loved seeing how responsive she was. His thumb worked double-time, and when she started to cry out, the arm wrapped around her had to cover her mouth. The section of the compound where the housing was located was isolated from the main part of the estate, but there were still servants and other people around. It wouldn't do well for anyone to hear them.

She looked so fucking beautiful writhing beneath him. His fingers felt completely drenched and he felt a great sense of accomplishment from it.

Finally, her walls surrounded his appendages until they were squeezing together and she screamed into his hand, her entire body stringing taut from her release.

When she stopped and she opened her eyes, he removed his hand from her mouth. She was panting, staring up at the ceiling in wonder. He smirked.

When he pulled his fingers out and felt how lubricated they were from her juices, he couldn't resist. He placed one in his mouth, swirling his tongue around so he tasted all of her tangy essence.

She watched him, amazed, as he licked the other fingers. He smirked at her expression and then settled himself on her once again.

"Ready?" he asked again.

"Uh...let me just..." She molded the standard chakra pose. He could hear the faint humming of her chakra as she prepared herself.

"Okay," she told him quietly. "I'm ready."

He aligned himself at her threshold and noticed how he could still feel even though she couldn't. She was _so_ hot and moist. He reached beneath her and took a hold of her shoulders. Slowly, he thrust forward and he watched her face carefully for any signs of pain. Her expression contorted just a little.

"Are you alright?" he panted, hardly bearing through how she gripped him so tightly. He had to fight his natural urges to just pound into her.

"Yes...just...a lot of pressure..."

He entered painstakingly slow, gritting his teeth, until his tip could feel her barrier.

"Alright," she breathed out, letting him know that she could feel it, too. "You should just...uh...go for it."

His gaze met hers and he relished the affection he saw in them. He smirked at her wording, then leaned down and kissed her chastely.

When they parted, he propped himself onto his forearms, and with one hard, strong push and tilt of his hips he rammed into her, thinking the best way to tear the barrier was with one good swoop. He watched her face twist again in discomfort.

He stopped. "Are you alrig-"

"Just keep going," she urged him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

So he complied, slamming into her again and again. Despite feeling like the lower half of him was sizzling in wanton heat and it was starting to become difficult to concentrate, he kept his eyes on her face and his attention on the sounds she made. If she gave any indication he was hurting her, he was going to stop.

But the odd thing was she really must have been unfeeling because, besides her mouth tightening slightly, her expressions didn't give anything away. Her face was neutral, almost unmoving.

"What does it feel like?" he asked amidst his labored breathing.

"I just feel a lot of pressure. No pain. But no...pleasure either."

He was a little perturbed by the whole experience. He was breathing heavily and panting and she was pretty still beneath him. He thought he almost rather have her feel the pain instead of just lying there. It was like he was having sex with a vegetable. That thought repulsed him so much that he pulled out.

"What's the matter?" Kanae asked, concerned.

"You're just lying there. It hardly makes it pleasurable for me," he stated bluntly.

One of her brows dipped in ambiguity. "Uh...um...I'm sorry," she responded quietly. "What do you want me to do?"

He was pretty sure he had broken though her hymen, but just be to certain he quickly put in a few fingers to search, his heavily throbbing member making his actions hasty with impatience. She gave a short cry of surprise.

"I can't feel it," he said, his tone bordering on testy. "Do you think you can stop using your chakra to numb yourself? It shouldn't be painful anymore."

She nodded quickly. "O-okay, but wait. Let me heal myself real quick. Then I should be fine."

He nodded, his disgruntlement fading away quickly. He watched her as one of her hands glowed blue with chakra and he was dumbstruck and spellbound when she put a few of her fingers inside of herself. It was surprisingly sexy to watch her heal herself.

She chuckled lightly and he looked up at her face.

"You seem fascinated," she commented offhandedly.

"That's...pretty amazing," he responded, awe laced in his tone as he went back to observing. He may have had sex before, but never with a healer...never with a healer doing _that_.

"Alright," she said, pulling her fingers out. "I'm healed. It should be fine now."

He looked into her eyes for moment, thinking about how incredible she was and how stunning she looked with her delicate blush and moist, pink lips. He took a hold of her face with his hands and kissed her ardently. He positioned himself at her again, and when she wrapped her arms around his neck he pushed into her fervently. He continued with long, smooth thrusts. He could feel her body responding to him and could feel her inner walls closing on him and clamping him each time he moved. If she wasn't in pain now, she probably wasn't going to be, so he buried his face into her neck, concentrating on how he felt with each drive into her.

"Oh my god..." she whispered after a little while and he was slightly shocked to feel her hips moving along with his. Using chakra the first time and then healing herself was ingenious! He felt a little bad for getting annoyed, but they may even finish together if he could hold out long enough.

Her hands clung to his back and he could feel the mild stinging as she embedded her nails into his skin, but the sensations he was experiencing where they were conjoined far outweighed the pain. In fact, it even added pleasure to it.

His rhythm started to stray from its even tempo when he felt her walls compress around him so exquisitely that he let out a harsh growl. She was almost there. He could feel it.

She suddenly let out a fierce cry, throwing her head back against the pillow and arching her back, throwing her breasts outward.

A few more good pumps and he felt the onslaught of heat and desire overwhelm him. His groin and balls grew almost unbearably tight for a split second before his release.

He grunted hard and rode out his ejaculation until he was done, and then collapsed onto Kanae, spent.

The only sound in the room was their heavy panting. He felt her hands move through his hair and he mustered enough energy to look up at her. She met his gaze and gave him a huge and seemingly satiated smile. His chest tightened as he regarded her evident happiness.

She pulled him forward and kissed him earnestly and he responded with equal zeal. His heart thumped exuberantly and he felt high, almost giddily so. He had never felt like this before. He knew it was because of the extraordinary woman in his arms and as she expressed her sweet affection in the aftermath of their love making, rapidly his chest filled with something powerful and profound.

"I love you," he told her compulsively. The words had just tumbled out before he even had a chance to think about them.

She blinked a few times in shock, and he saw her eyes fill with tears. It seemed like she hadn't expect him to say it. But the inexorable truth was he did love her, wanted to give her everything and make absolutely sure she was happy.

"I love you too, Ryo," she responded softly, her large gold eyes warm.

He kissed her again, merely touching his lips to hers for the sake of feeling them. When they pulled apart she chuckled.

"You know...I've heard that sex the first time isn't supposed to be that great. I beg to differ. I thought it was...wonderful," she stated as blush dusted her cheeks.

"The chakra probably helped," he responded. And he couldn't help his own smile that refused to be restrained. A minute feeling of guilt niggled at him again too, however, but he shoved it aside, instead staring into Kanae's eyes.

"If you could have healed yourself so easily, why didn't you break your hymen before?" he asked, really curious.

A furrow appeared between her brows and her lips evened out into a line of chagrin.

"Take my own virginity?" she asked skeptically.

He chuckled lightly. "Alright, stupid question."

Eventually he pulled out and lay on his side. Kanae immediately snuggled up against him. As he held her in his arms, he couldn't adequately describe his disposition at the moment. He could claim he was extremely happy, satisfied...like all was right in the world, but it felt so much deeper than that. Again, in the corner of his mind he was reminded that this was wrong, but in the afterglow of making love to her, he didn't care so much. He would deal with the consequences later after they parted from each other. For right now, as he stroked her hair and she moved her hand over his abs and chest, he was content to just be with her.

"I was thinking about something," she said quietly after a while.

"Hm?"

"You said that you were assigned to intercept the scroll. How did you know that it was coming here in the first place?"

And once again, he was impressed with her keen intellect. But then the tranquility of the post-coital bliss dissipated, and he realized that he either had to lie to her or reveal some rather incriminating information about his clan. She sensed the mood change and she lifted herself to look at him. She studied his features for a few seconds and then touched a hand to his face in encouragement.

He exhaled long and slow before he began. "We are naturally inclined to use every opportunity to undermine the Senju. That means we are enlightened to many significant occurrences in your clan. Such as courier movement."

She nodded, her eyes tightening slightly, masking herself with a serious veneer. "I am already aware that your clan uses such methods against ours," she said lowly, taking the emotion out of her tone. Ryosuki knew it was uncharacteristic of her not to express how she was feeling and knew she was very upset with this confession.

He touched her face softly. "I'm sor-"

"Don't apologize," she interrupted brusquely before she sighed heavily, casting her eyes downward. "I guess, as you said, it's only natural." She looked back up to him, her eyes sad.

"I hope that one day things could be different for our clans. My father speaks of it a lot. He dreams that one day all of the ninja clans could coexist in peace."

Ryosuki knew if it wasn't for his love for Kanae, he wouldn't feel torn with her words. A part of him hoped for the very same thing, but another part, the pessimistic, cynical, Uchiha part of him, made him believe it was naive to believe in such dreams. However, he was aware of how strong the Senju clan leader was. Naive was the last word that could be used to describe the man. Perhaps if the head of one of the most powerful ninja clans in all of the five nations longed for peace, then maybe it was quite possible.

"I wish for that, too," Ryosuki said quietly. Kanae reached for him, touching her hands to his face. She pulled him to her and kissed him deeply. When she backed away Ryosuki was a little surprised when he saw her throw the blankets off and get out of bed. He watched with vested interest as she walked naked over to the scroll that he had dropped earlier. She picked it up and walked back over to him, getting in the bed again. "We should do this now before we forget," she said with a knowing smile.

After a few hand signs the seal disappeared. She opened the scroll and began reading.

"Oh, this isn't really anything important...just...an update...hmm..." She tilted her head, her brow dipping in curiosity. "It's an update about me."

He watched her as she read on. She smiled at a few parts and then she brought a hand to her mouth and tears started to silently fall down her face.

"What is it?" Ryosuki asked, sitting up, slightly worried.

She shook her head. "It's...well...my father was giving him an update on my training, and...I didn't even know he noticed...he said he was proud of me and even said that he knew 'the Uchiha' had a hand in my improvement."

She looked up at him, beaming. "My father says that he hopes one day he will get the opportunity to thank you."

Ryosuki blinked in shock. He _really_ hadn't expected that. He didn't know how to respond so he nodded woodenly.

"I forgot to tell you. Remember that day last week when I broke your jaw? Well, of course you remember. So, after I went home I did some research and figured out how I did it."

"Really?" he asked, interested.

"Yes. I learned how to build up my chakra to a small point, concentrate it one area and shoot it to any place on my body where I want to make impact."

He couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised, despite the damage he had incurred from it. "I would love to see that one day. Again."

Kanae tilted her head and her eyes softened. "So does that mean...we're going to see each other again?"

He reached out a hand and cupped her cheek. "We really shouldn't."

She nodded solemnly. "Okay. I can understand if you don't want to."

"I didn't say I didn't want to. I just said we shouldn't."

She nodded again, this time smiling knowingly. She rolled the scroll closed and set it on a table next to the bed. She glanced at a clock on the wall.

"While I would love to stay here with you...like this...I was invited to have dinner with the Daimyo. I should get ready."

He nodded. "I have a blank scroll in my room. I will take your scroll and copy it, then bring it back here."

"Are you...staying again tonight?" she asked hopefully.

He chuckled. "Yes, I am."

He smirked at her huge grin.

"Me too."

* * *

><p>After he left Kanae's room he went right to work "copying" the scroll. He gave a vague rendition of the real scroll's contents. He hoped it wouldn't appear suspicious, but he been on enough of these types of missions to know that not all correspondences carried valuable information.<p>

He was served dinner in his room and afterward he took a shower and decided to read until Kanae was done with hers.

Later that evening he was surprised to feel her signature outside his door. When he opened it and let her inside, she slammed it shut, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately, and they spent the rest of the night together just as they had in her room earlier.

* * *

><p>Kanae woke before him. He opened his eyes to find her watching him, her expression content.<p>

"Good morning," she said softly, reaching out to tuck some of his hair away from his face.

His response was to lean in and kiss her. He had only intended to do just that but she immediately moved over to straddle him. He briefly wondered if he had unleashed a monster, or more accurately, a vixen, before his thumbs gently stroked her nipples, just as eager for a morning round.

Afterwards they showered together and came out to see that someone had brought breakfast. Ryosuki frowned, a little worried that someone may have discovered her in his room as Kanae didn't waste any time delving in. She looked up at him when she noticed he didn't join her right away.

"What's wrong?"

He exhaled a long, wearisome sigh and sat on the edge of the bed.

"I was thinking about the scroll. About how your father was exchanging information about me."

Kanae stopped eating and went to sit next to him, taking his hand into hers.

"I've thought about that, too. It's of utmost importance that your..._affiliation_...with me remains hidden. For obvious reasons," she murmured the last part.

"How is that going to happen with your father openly speaking about me?"

She started to shake her head. "I've explained this to my father. Well, this was before we...before we...before things got intimate. But I told him that absolutely no one from your clan can know about our meetings. He said he relayed the same information to the Daimyo and we can be assured that the information won't be revealed. Also," she took a hold of his face so he would look at her. "I never disclosed your name. All he knows is that you're an Uchiha."

A corner of his mouth tilted in appreciation. "You're good," he said approvingly, leaning in and kissing her.

"Besides, this can't be the first time something like this has happened, right?" he said, a tinge of hope making its way into his tone. "It is not unreasonable for us to believe that an Uchiha and a Senju had engaged in a relationship before."

Her eyes gleamed brightly with intrigue. "No, not unreasonable at all," she agreed.

And that was when Ryosuki knew he was pretty much done for. There was no fighting it anymore. The moment he started to justify what they were doing was the moment he lost. He couldn't believe how drastically things had changed between them in just a few short months. At first he would not, and did not, hesitate to hurt her; now he would kill anyone who attempted to do the same.

He peered into her lustrous amber eyes, finding serenity, beauty and strength in them.

"I love you," she told him, smiling sweetly, and hearing those words from her, he knew that all of the risk was absolutely worth it.

* * *

><p>They decided that he should leave first. After arranging for another time and place to meet, she kissed him deeply before leaving his room. Then after exchanging pleasantries with the Daimyo, with the scroll with the quasi-fabricated information, he strode through the local trading town in the direction towards home.<p>

It was after he passed through the gates and was a good ways into the nearby woods when he felt it.

He stopped suddenly, looking down at the forest floor, narrowing his eyes in confusion. An almost overwhelming and inexplicable feeling of..._wrong_...consumed him. His whole body tensed, like he was preparing for a fight, but he couldn't sense any signatures around. Like the rest of his clan, he had a stellar ability to detect chakra, even hidden chakra, but he flashed his sharingan active anyway. Nothing and no one.

But the feeling wouldn't go away. In fact, his apprehension only increased, as if the more time he was wasting here, the more something was..._not right_.

Call it intuition or a premonition or divine intervention, but he suddenly thought of Kanae. His heart felt like it dropped into the pit of stomach and he instantly turned back toward the location of the Daimyo's compound and ran with chakra enhanced footfalls. He knew it...he just knew it. Something bad was going to happen.

Within minutes he was slowing, catching the sound of voices traveling faintly through the forest. Then he heard a woman scream.

He raced toward the sounds and when he was close enough to feel the signatures, he ran up a trunk of a tree to gain the higher ground and then hopped along silently until he neared a group of people. He stopped, hiding behind the trunk, assessing the situation.

There were four men, all shinobi who appeared to be from Earth Country, two giving each other a high five, one doubled over in obvious pain, and the last one...

Kanae was slumped unconscious over his shoulder.

"I told you not to goad her," the one carrying her sneered. "She might be the Senju princess but she's still a kunoichi."

"_Fuck!_ She broke my fucking nose!"

"Ha! That's what you get!"

"C'mon," another chimed in. "Let's bring her to Daiguki-sama. I'm sure he'll be pleased with our find."

Ryosuki soundlessly reached into his ninja pouch and withdrew two shuriken. With his other hand, he unclasped his weapons holster and took out a kunai. He launched one shuriken at one of the men who had high-fived, and his second shuriken at the other. One dropped to the ground, a shuriken pierced into the side of his neck, blood spurting from the opening the weapon had created. He cried out in agony, ripping the weapon out and attempting to cover the gaping hole, but it was too large. He would be dead in seconds. The other _was_ dead, having Ryosuki's shuriken lodged into his brain.

Immediately after throwing his shuriken, Ryosuki flung himself to a nearby tree branch while simultaneously catapulting his kunai toward the other shinobi that wasn't currently holding Kanae. The ninja realized what was happening at the last second, but it was too late. He was instantly dead with a kunai sticking out of an eye.

Ryosuki dropped to the ground and walked toward the last remaining nin. It was apparent that they were low-level, hence why they didn't sense him and it was easy to take three of them down.

"An Uchiha?" the shinobi asked, his tone almost reaching hysteria. "What do you want?"

"Hand over the Senju princess."

"What do you want her for?"

Ryosuki's eyes narrowed dangerously and his chakra exuded a sharp, angry warning. The shinobi's eyes widened, but he was smart. He pulled out his own kunai and stuck it to Kanae's throat.

"Come any closer and she dies."

Ryosuki made the seals for a genjutsu and he had to flash step forward to catch Kanae as the nin loosened his grip and she started to slip off his shoulder. He laid her gently on the ground, and pulling the kunai he used to kill the other nin, he sliced open the throat of the last.

For a long moment, Ryosuki was infuriated that Kanae allowed herself to get captured by such pathetic excuses for shinobi. He knelt over her, moving her hair out of her face. He looked over her features and saw a very large and noticeable protrusion from the side of head. They must have hit her hard to knock her unconscious. He lifted an eyelid to see her pupil dilated. He wasn't a healer, but he knew the signs of a concussion. He checked over the rest of her and being relieved they didn't harm her any further he looked around himself, wondering what he should do. He wasn't sure of the severity of the concussion, but just in case it was bad she needed to be tended to very soon. He looked back in the direction of the Daimyo's complex. If he took her back there then their secret relationship would be revealed. He could take her to a more inconspicuous location to have her checked out or he could take her to...

He hesitated, starting to weigh the pros and cons of taking her back to her clan. Bringing her - alone - into the enemy's territory was probably not wise. They might automatically blame him for her condition and either kill him or keep him as prisoner. When Kanae would wake up he knew she would be at his defense. She might be the daughter of the clan leader but how much influence and authority did she carry? Would she be able to save him if her clan decided to finish him off?

But he didn't want to take the time to find somewhere else, and then maybe even receive mediocre service. Her own clansmen would heal her quickly and more efficiently.

He sighed, an uncomfortable feeling settling into his stomach as he decided it would be best - for her - if he took her to her home.

After disposing of the bodies and evidence he picked her up, carrying her bridal-style, and molding chakra he closed his eyes and allowed himself and Kanae to be whisked away into the blankness of space as he disappeared into a teleportation jutsu toward the Senju clan estate.

* * *

><p>To be continued...<p>

A/N: thanks to silver-footsteps for the beta!


	6. Reception

A/N: I am sure most of you will agree that most of the authors on FF don't write for reviews, but that doesn't necessarily mean they don't appreciate them. I am not one of those authors that will refuse to post the next chapter if I don't get the number of reviews I want, but from the number of hits I'm getting I would REALLY like to get feedback on this story.

I understand OCs are not that popular in the narutoverse (or many other fanfics) but I am sure people can appreciate how my OCs are a history gap filler, as I like to look at it. If anyone has seen the anime _Basilisk_, they will know where I got the idea for this fic from. I will only tell you it's a love story about a man and woman from supposed enemy clans and I thought, "what a great story that would make for a Senju and Uchiha!" Romantic, right? Sooo...for the people reading, I would REALLY REALLY like to know what you think...if you like it, tell me so, or if you absolutely hate it and want to tell me, my family, my dog, my cat, my goldfish and my parakeet to go to hell, tell me that, too, but tell me WHY. Most authors on FF want (need) the opinions.

And to my faithful reviewers, THANKS!

* * *

><p>Kanae's emergence from unconsciousness was assiduously slow because, while her body was ready, her mind was sluggish and reluctant to fully enter wakefulness. Muffled, like her head was submerged in water, she heard the steady, ringing beep of a monitor.<p>

"_Where am I?" _she thought as she strained to open her heavy eyelids. She felt like she had been asleep for a very long time. Her mouth was dry, her tongue felt thick and gritty and there was a general metallic taste that made her automatically glide her tongue across her top teeth over and over.

"You're home, Kanae-hime," someone answered, and her mind started to come back to her more rapidly, now realizing she actually spoke her question out loud instead of just wondering it.

Kanae started to sit up, but she felt the light pressure of someone's touch on her shoulders, gently urging her to lay back down.

"There's no need to rush, sweetheart. Allow yourself a little time to acclimate to your environment first," the soft voice of a women lightly chastised.

But she ignored it, attempting to sit up again. She knew the woman was right. She knew instinctively that she endured a trauma of some kind and when first coming into alertness, one should always allow some time to take everything in, in stride. She even told patients this herself. But as her mind was turning with the events she last remembered, consternation filled her.

"What-what happened? How did I-?" she paused and sat blinking as images of the forest around the Daimyo's estate came into her awareness. She was walking in the woods heading home. She was a good ways into her journey when she realized that she was being followed. When she started to run, knowing that was the best option at the moment, they pursued her and eventually caught up. She recalled one of them, a ninja, starting a fight with her, and she remembered getting pissed because he wasn't taking her seriously. At the first sign of an opening she threw her fist towards his face, hoping to hit anything and severely injure or kill him, but he was fast and she only managed to break his nose. That was the last thing that occurred, and now she woke up here.

She looked around herself briefly, recognizing the wood floor, walls and ceiling of the Senju clan's infirmary.

"Kanae-hime," the dulcet voice came again in a mildly reprimanding tone, and she knew who it was.

"Hiyori-san, how did I get here?"

"You were brought here unconscious because you experienced a concussion. " Then she watched as the older healer sat herself on the edge of her bed, smiling wanly and shaking her head. "Of course you wouldn't know who rescued you."

"Who rescued-" Well, of course she had to be rescued. She fucking almost got captured!

"Yes," Hiyori said, her smile widening. And Kanae saw a strange glimmer in her eye. Kanae's eyes narrowed slightly as she regarded her counterpart healer. Hiyori's eyes possessed a mixture of mischief and excitement and maybe even...joy.

"Yes, Kanae-hime, from what he told us he found you unconscious, almost taken captive by Earth Country nins, but he saved you."

"_He_?"

The older healer chuckled. "Yes, he. That Uchiha."

Kanae could feel her eyes slowly and automatically widen as shock overtook her. "Ryosuki? He's here?"

As soon as Hiyori started to nod, with that mischievous twinkle still in her eye, Kanae was throwing the blankets off and swinging her legs around to the side of the bed. A sharp pain in her wrist prevented her from going any further.

"Ow, what's-" She glanced down and finally saw the IV. They must have been giving her antibiotics that caused the novocaine type flavor to reside in her mouth. For one short second she wondered why she was given them, but quickly disregarded the thought for a much more pressing matter. Ryosuki was _here_, at her home!

Not very safe or sanitary, she clenched her teeth and ripped the IV out from her. Her eyes instantly watered from the stinging sensation.

"Kanae-hime! What're you doing?" Hiyori yelped in a panic, getting up to restrain Kanae again.

"I have to go see him," she answered, placing her feet on the floor while ripping the medical tape off her skin with another round of watering eyes. "I feel fine. You've done a great job," she said breezily, wrapping the thin material of the infirmary yukata around her more securely before getting up and bolting toward the door.

"Wait! Don't you at least want to get dressed?"

Kanae stopped and looked down at herself. The only thing underneath this thing was her underwear. Yeah, she would probably want to do that before going out into public. On the other hand, if Ryo was here, it would be less for him to take off of her. A magnificent smile plastered onto her face as she turned to look at Hiyori.

"Yeah, where are my clothes?"

After getting dressed she went into the bathroom and tried to touch up as much as she could. It was evident that while she was out she hadn't been bathed, which was quite unfortunate because her hair was oily and flat and ratty. After procuring a hair tie and washing her face, she hastened her way out again.

"Kanae-hime! Wait, before you go...there's something I want to discuss with you."

Hiyori's tone differed so much from her previous one that Kanae instantly turned around. The older woman was suddenly very serious.

"What it is?"

Hiyori patted the space next to her on the bed. Uh-oh. Kanae immediately knew what it was that she wanted to talk about. Grudgingly she obliged the other healer and sat beside her. After a long pause where the air between them felt heavy and a little awkward, Hiyori began.

"I noticed that while I was checking your vitals you had been consistently regulating the output of your progesterone and estrogen hormone levels," she stated evenly.

Kanae cringed. Yup, she noticed. But before she could confess - or deny - anything, the woman continued.

"Well, perhaps 'regulating' was the wrong word. What I should have said was _suppressing_ your hormone levels."

The older healer had been facing forward, but now turned to look at Kanae. "I know this is a breach of protocol and I am out of line for inquiring about it, but there is only one reason why a young woman would want to suppress her natural hormone functions."

Kanae kept her gaze forward, focusing on the molding that connected the floor and wall. She didn't answer, feeling both ashamed and slightly resentful. Ashamed that someone found out right away, in this manner no less, and resentful because it really wasn't any of her business.

However, Hiyori was a healer that participated in much of her training. Though they were student and pupil for a long while, when Kanae developed her skills enough to surpass her, the relationship had turned to more like comrades, or friends.

Kanae sighed, knowing Hiyori was only bringing this up out of concern. The older woman wasn't one to gossip, not that it would matter anyway.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Hiyori chuckled.

"I'm very impressed, actually. You can control your hormones even in unconsciousness. That's a feat that most of the very experienced healers have yet to accomplish."

Kanae turned to Hiyori with raised brows, blinking from shock.

"It's a good thing, too, because more than likely you would have conceived."

Kanae's jaw dropped open at that comment. Hiyori mistook it for incredulity that she would be so straightforward with the Senju princess and was immediately backpedaling.

"Oh, I mean...I'm sorry, Kanae-hime! I shouldn't have said that! That was-"

"No, you're right," Kanae said, sighing again. Her shoulders slumped in almost despair at the thought of getting pregnant. That was...something that _absolutely_ could not happen.

"The idea that you're tampering with your natural hormone function means that..._it_...happened very recently," Hiyori stated softly, cautiously, probably not wanting to venture too far into sensitive territory. And while they were friends, they weren't_ that_ close of friends, and Kanae bristled somewhat from her meddling. She stayed silent, and to that the older woman nodded, understanding she didn't want to talk about it. She knew Hiyori was smart and was going to put two-and-two together about when _it_ happened and with whom. Kanae turned to face her.

"I appreciate you bringing this up, only because I know that you genuinely care, but I have everything under control," Kanae assured her.

There was a brief moment where she saw doubt flicker across Hiyori's features, but was immediately replaced with a cheerful smile. "Yes, of course, Kanae-hime."

With that, Kanae nodded, touching a hand to the older woman's shoulder in thanks, got up, and headed towards the door.

"I believe your beau is currently with your father. They were in the clan's council room, but that was a while ago so they might have moved elsewhere."

Kanae turned around abruptly, throwing a gracious and grateful smile to the healer. "Arigatou, Hiyori-san," she said, giving a little bow.

* * *

><p>After asking of her father's whereabouts and learning that it was almost dinner time, Kanae sped her way to her quarters, wanting to shower and change real quickly. Her father - and Ryo - were said to be sitting down to eat.<p>

As she rushed around the small village she noticed the different looks her clansmen gave her. Some were odd, like they weren't sure what to think, others were mischievous, much like Hiyori's, and others were blatantly disapproving.

All of them went without much thought or care. Kanae had only one objective right now and she raced to clean herself with a single-minded determination that outrivaled the hardest training she ever did.

As she lathered herself with soap under the steaming sprays of the shower, the smile that had adorned her face since she left the infirmary hadn't lessened one bit. She remembered everything - _everything_ - that occurred yesterday and her heart thumped excitedly. The extreme metamorphosis of their circumstances, expressed in the most intimate way, left Kanae feeling like she was flying.

And Ryosuki told her he loved her! And then spending the night with her and then arranging for them to meet again...

And the fact that he had rescued her!

Things had changed so quickly that Kanae questioned if it was all real or if it was a horrible genjutsu she happened to get stuck in. But Hiyori and other clansmen told her he was here so she knew this wasn't a dream.

As she dressed, she wondered what her father thought about Ryo; wondered what he thought about the whole situation altogether. Well, her father had wanted to thank him, right? Their first meeting was uncustomary, sure, but Ryo was here because he was doing a nice deed. Not just a nice deed...he rescued her!

For the first time since she ran to clean up, her smile faded. No one was expecting him to come, so it was probably alarming (to say the least) that an Uchiha showed up on the Senju doorstep with their princess unconscious in his arms. He probably wasn't...welcomed...right off the bat. She cringed. She hoped her clansmen didn't treat him too unkindly.

Well, Ryo was still here and Kanae assumed that meant he was asked to stay and felt comfortable enough to do so.

Her ferocity to see Ryo ignited once again and she hurriedly dressed, and as much as her wet hair allowed, she tried to put it into a fancy and simple style, and even after applying just a touch of makeup, something she only wore on special occasions, she bounded out of her quarters toward the formal dining hall. When she turned a corner, the building came into her view. Just as she was about to take another step, she heard someone calling her name. She turned to find her cousin running toward her and waving her down.

"Kanae! Kanae!"

She stopped and started to walk towards her. When they reached each other her cousin immediately grabbed her into a hug.

"Oh my god! _Everyone_ is talking about what happened! Have you seen him yet? He's here, you know!" her nineteen-year-old clansmen practically screamed in her ear.

"Maiko! Calm down, will you?" Kanae patted her on the back and then stepped away. "No, I haven't seen him yet." And then the huge smile reappeared. Her older cousin appraised her, tilting her head to the side, her large green eyes soft and thoughtful.

"You seem...different," she noted, an eyebrow lowering and gaze glinting inquisitively.

Kanae resisted sighing. If it wasn't for Maiko's uncanny perceptiveness, Kanae would have thought she had a sign wrung around her neck revealing all of her secrets of late.

"I do?" Kanae asked innocently.

"Yes..." Maiko drawled out speculatively.

"Stop it," Kanae said, pushing past her, knowing if her cousin scrutinized her any further she would find her out.

"So, you're going to see him right now, huh?" Maiko asked, following. "Yeah, you are. Look at you. You're glowing and you can't stop smiling!"

Kanae stopped and turned to face her. "If you're coming, _please_ just...don't say anything embarrassing, okay? Just...don't say anything at all. In fact, maybe you should wait until later to meet him-"

"Geez, what do you take me for? You really think I would embarrass you in front of him?"

Kanae raised her brows in challenge of Maiko's question.

"Alright, alright. Let's just go. I want to see this guy that you've been talking nonstop about for months."

The dining hall was one large room with the kitchen next to it. When they entered, Kanae saw the occupants of the table, searching for Ryosuki. Everyone stood up as they walked toward the long table. She saw him sitting at the corner adjacent to her father who sat on one end, and smiled at him.

"Kanae, you've finally awoken," her father spoke first.

"Yes, tousan," she said, walking up to him and bowing deferentially. When she stood up to face him, he leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"I'm glad to see that you're alright."

She nodded, taking a quick glance at Ryo. "From what I've heard, if it wasn't for Ryo...Ryosuki, I wouldn't be here right now."

Senju Satoru nodded solemnly. "Yes. You were very fortunate, indeed."

Kanae made her way around her father and stood before the Uchiha. Very formally she bowed gracefully and then stood back up and looked directly into his eyes.

"Arigatou, Ryosuki, for rescuing me."

He nodded, and then bent forward in a bow of his own.

And Kanae couldn't help it. Gratitude, admiration, wonder and love was building up in her so fast that her actions were compulsory. She stepped toward Ryo and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. She felt him stiffen, and then awkwardly he patted her on the back with one hand. She almost giggled. She knew he was uncomfortable, and probably embarrassed, since he was around her clansmen, but she didn't care. Not wanting to prolong his discomfort, however, she let him go after a moment, stepping back shyly. She looked up at him and, sure enough, he appeared a little flustered and uncertain. She smiled at him. He nodded in return.

She took in the other clansmen standing around the table. It was difficult to gauge what some of them were thinking, since they wore no expressions at all. Others, like her uncle and his wife, appeared amused. And then others' features, like Maiko's brother, Tenzin, twisted in distaste and outrage.

"We were just sitting down to eat. Why don't you join us? You're probably very hungry," her father told her, also nodding for Maiko to join, as well.

"Arigatou, tousan," Kanae said, walking to the other end of the table where there were a few empty seats. She stared at Tenzin the whole way, hoping she was getting the message across that he was to behave. He seemed to understand and a sneer of a smirk tilted a corner of his mouth.

Dinner, even in the formal dining hall, was an informal affair as people got caught up in their own conversations. Kanae wasn't sitting near Ryo so she had to settle for speaking with Maiko. She would glance at her father, who genially kept her lover occupied with conversation, and then at Ryo. Everything seemed to be okay, and she felt almost overwhelmed with relief and happiness because of it.

"You weren't exaggerating when you said he was good-looking," Maiko commented in a stage-whisper.

Kanae smiled, glancing at Ryo again. She had to compartmentalize all of her current thoughts. She focused some of her attention on Maiko, then another part of her was concentrating on her father's and Ryo's interaction, but a whole other section of her brain that housed the thoughts of what her and Ryo did yesterday refused to be ignored. At a few points in time she could feel her face grow warm with both desire and embarrassment, and Maiko called her out on it, but her older cousin thought it was because of the man itself and not her dirty thoughts.

Dinner seemed to be going fine for a while until she sensed a slight rising of angry chakra coming from Tenzin. The general atmosphere of the group was subdued and even a little awkward, but the distinctness of his chakra was causing his acrimony to be palpable to everyone.

However, everyone, with good grace, ignored it.

Tenzin took notice of this and his once hushed words he was exchanging with another clansmen was drowning out the rest of the conversations.

"It's abominable! Disgraceful! He's an _Uchiha_!"

And at the last comment, the whole room fell into a tense silence and he was the center of attention. Seeing this, he abruptly stood up and thrust a finger at his offending party.

"He shouldn't be here, regardless of him rescuing Kanae! It's degrading to allow him to break bread with us because he's still the _enemy_!"

Kanae thought she knew Ryosuki pretty well. Over the last few months she learned he was incredibly reserved, even stoic with his emotions. He hardly ever seemed to get riled, but perhaps it was just with her that he conducted himself in that way. She looked over to the Uchiha with mild dismay to see how he would react towards Tenzin's barefaced censure.

She breathed out a sigh of relief when he didn't react at all; he just stared indifferently in return.

This seemed to further acerbate Tenzin's already foul disposition. He was looking at the rest of his clansmen for any signs of accession of his position or vindication for the Uchiha, but he finally faced Ryosuki and boldly looked him in the eye.

"Your presence here is loathsome and insulting! If I had my way from the beginning I would have locked you up!"

Kanae suddenly stood up, knocking her chair back and it clattered noisily against the wooden floor. "Enough!"

Tenzin turned his raging eyes towards her. "You get no opinion here since you're obviously biased!"

"My opinion matters a whole hell of a lot more than yours does!"

Kanae could see the protruding vein in his forehead throb with annoyance.

"And he stays," she finished resolutely.

"Your vote doesn't count," Tenzin stated through tightly clenched teeth.

"I didn't know there was a vote," Kanae replied apathetically, folding her arms across her chest. "But if there is a vote, it seems pretty obvious to me that you and just a handful of others would easily get outvoted."

She watched as his hands balled into fists.

"But let's be fair about this. I don't want anyone here to be displeased, so why don't we settle this matter the good, old-fashioned shinobi way?"

For the first time since he stood up, Tenzin allowed his animosity to drop slightly.

"What do you mean? A challenge?"

Kanae nodded blithely. "Yes. A challenge."

A massive, arrogant grin spread across Tenzin's face. "Great idea, Kanae-hime. If I win, he goes. If he wins-"

"No, not Ryo," Kanae interrupted sternly.

Tenzin's brows pushed together in confusion. "Not the Uchiha? Who, then?"

She stared hard at her older cousin. "Me."

A few short gasps of surprise echoed around the room. Tenzin blinked.

"You? You're kidding, right?"

Kanae narrowed her eyes. "Does it look like I'm kidding?"

That arrogant smirk returned. "_You_ want to challenge _me_?"

Having learned well from Ryo, she kept her expression even and cool. "I do."

Tenzin suddenly laughed; a few chuckles at first, but then it developed into full blown fits of mocking cackles that made Kanae's blood boil. And just as suddenly, he stopped and eyed Kanae with a fierceness that portrayed his intense antipathy.

"You're on."

"No, Kanae," she heard Ryo's low voice at the other end of the table. "I will not stand for you fighting with your clansmen."

Without ever looking away from Tenzin, she answered, "This is the best way, Ryo. A vote will still leave behind resentment, but this way will put the matter away altogether-"

"There shouldn't be a vote either," he interrupted her quietly. "If there are _any_ who are displeased with my being here then I should leave."

Kanae whipped her head to look at him. "I want you here. Anyone who is dissatisfied with your presence can deal with me."

Ryo shook his head slightly. "I don't want you fighting with your clansmen," he repeated.

"And I'm doing this whether you want me to or not," she replied adamantly.

They looked at each other for a long moment. Ryo's dark eyes retained a hard flint, but there was a trace of sadness in them, as well.

"Kanae," her father broke in. "Why don't we clarify the terms first." Her father was obviously open to the challenge. "What will happen to Ryosuki-san if Tenzin wins?"

She stood in thought for a little bit. "Never again will he set foot onto Senju territory." It was implied, however, that she was going to continue to see him regardless of the outcome.

"And what about _his_ clansmen?" Tenzin asked with disdain.

"What about them?" Kanae asked.

"Are we to refrain from killing them on missions now?"

Kanae frowned. "I hoped you would be doing that anyway," she replied quietly.

Tenzin scoffed. "They never hesitate to kill us! Why shouldn't we reciprocate?" Rancor dripped thickly from his tone.

"We should only act in self-defense," Satoru responded.

"Exactly," Kanae agreed readily. "Ryo has no desire to harm any of us. We should, at least, treat him with the same respect."

"_Ryo_!" Tenzin spat harshly. "Despicable! And he calls you Kanae! How disrespectful of him not to refer to you with your honorific!"

"He tries to, but I never let him," Kanae answered coolly.

"What if Kanae wins?" Satoru smoothly intervened, changing the subject.

"_When_ I win, Ryo can come and go as he pleases," Kanae answered, smiling thinly.

Tenzin snorted derisively, an obvious discredit to her "when" comment.

"Are we in agreement with the terms?" Satoru asked.

"Yes," Kanae replied firmly.

"Looks like no Uchiha will be coming around here again," Tenzin responded cockily.

"Alright, why don't we meet at the training grounds in an hour?" Kanae asked.

"Need some time to prepare?" Tenzin retorted haughtily. "Although an hour isn't enough time for you not to suck."

"It takes at least an hour for digestion to occur to form the metabolic pool consisting of simple sugars, glycerol, fatty acids, and amino acids, a breakdown of the nutrients you've just consumed that will give you adequate energy to fight."

Tenzin's lip curled in an angry sneer.

"You think you can intimidate me by sounding all smart with your medical jargon, but we're not fighting to see who's the smartest. We're fighting to see who's the strongest."

"Part of measuring how strong a person is physically is by measuring their capability intellectually, as well," Kanae shot back, and then she took up an egotistic expression. "And we both know who wins, intellectually."

Tenzin's eyes closed to slits. "I'll see you in an hour," he growled before stomping off.

No one spoke until the door of the dining hall slammed closed.

"Um," a clansman named Hisoka spoke up. "Are we allowed to watch the fight?" he asked uncertainly, looking between Kanae and Satoru.

"Sure," Kanae answered easily.

She looked around. Some were shaking their heads in disappointment. Others appeared enthusiastic. Ryosuki was in the first category. As some sat down to continue eating, others went about leaving and engaging in more conversation, Kanae stepped away from her place and walked up to Ryo and her father. She knelt between them so her face was level with the table. She looked up to her clan leader.

"I'm surprised that you agreed to it," she said.

"I'm surprised that you challenged Tenzin," he responded and she caught the trace amount of approval in his voice.

"Of course I did," Kanae said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Like I said, a vote will leave people feeling resentful. We're both fighting for our honor and-"

"Actually, you're fighting for my honor," Ryo broke in quietly. Kanae looked up at him, but she didn't glean anything from his usual indistinguishable features.

"Your honor is my honor," she said insistently.

It was quiet between them as they looked at one another, then Kanae heard her father say, "Very interesting."

Kanae looked at Satoru sharply. "What do you mean, 'very interesting'?"

He resumed eating, and after thoughtfully chewing and swallowing, he casually said, "Usually one fights for another person's honor if they are important to them." Then he looked his daughter square in the eye. "Perhaps if they are clansmen, very good friends, or..."

Satoru took a sip of wine.

"Or what?" Kanae asked.

"Or lovers," he responded evenly.

There was no way Kanae could hide her blush. She didn't dare look at Ryo to see what his reaction was.

"It's true," Ryo said, also taking a drink.

Kanae's eyes practically bulged out of her head. She certainly never expected him to just...be open about them. Especially to her father.

"I thought so," her father responded impassively.

Kanae now definitely thought she was trapped in some outlandish genjutsu. Before she could voice her thoughts, or attempt to release herself from the alternate universe she somehow stumbled into, Ryo spoke.

"Are you sure, Kanae? Tenzin-san doesn't look like the type to be trifled with."

She stood up and sat down in the seat next to Ryo, folding her arms across her chest.

"I know exactly what I'm doing," she stated confidently. "He may look big and strong and all that, but he's really more brawn than brain."

"What's your strategy then?"

"You'll see."

Ryo finally turned to face her, but his expression was indecipherable as always.

"You'll see," she assured him, giving a sweet smile that told of hidden secrets. He nodded before continuing with his meal.

"Are you done?" she suddenly asked, pointing to his plate.

"Uh..." He looked about halfway done. Kanae grabbed his hand.

"C'mon. There's something I want to show you before the fight," she said, standing and tugging. She looked over to her father as Ryo stood.

"See you later, tousan."

The Senju clan leader only nodded, not looking at her.

"Excuse us, Satoru-sama," Ryo said politely, and to that Satoru looked up then made a dismissive gesture with his hand.

As Kanae was pulling Ryo towards the door that led to the kitchen, intending to take him out the back way, she caught the eye of Maiko and smiled brightly. Her cousin rolled her eyes and mouthed, 'see you later.'

Rushing, she dragged the poor Uchiha through the kitchen doors and ignored the staff eying them curiously as she led him through to the storage room in the back. There was a door that exited to the outside, but before they reached it, Kanae roughly shoved Ryo against the wall, pressed herself against him and sealed her lips to his. She had actually expected him to hesitate and pull away, but was pleasantly surprised when he responded with just as much fervency.

Their hands were in each others' hair and they kissed passionately. Ryo tilted his head and when Kanae felt his tongue lightly brush her bottom lip she received him fervidly. It was only when they needed air did they part, but they continued to hold each other close.

"I can't believe you're here," Kanae breathed.

"It's not exactly a good thing that I'm here," Ryo replied, taking a hold of her shoulders and lightly shaking her a few times. "Kanae, how could you let those Earth Country nin almost take you? Do you realize what could have happened if I didn't arrive?"

Somewhat taken aback by the abrupt change in the atmosphere, Kanae took a step back from him, defensive.

"There were four of them! I was out numbered!"

"Didn't you notice them following you when you left-"

"No! I didn't! They must have seen me arrive and waited for me to leave."

"Do you realize what could have happened if I hadn't showed up?" he asked again, his tone weighing heavily with admonition.

Kanae crossed her arms over her chest and looked away. She wanted to be enjoying the time she had with him while he was here, not fighting about what _could_ have happened.

"I'm sorry, okay? It's not my fault that I was outnumbered."

They stood there in uncomfortable silence for a little while. Kanae refused to look at him. If he was going to spend their time this way then she didn't want to be around him right now.

"I could have lost you," he finally said. His voice was so low and quiet that Kanae leaned toward him, looking up at him. He wasn't looking at her either but at the ground, but the tight knit of his brows evidenced his concern. Kanae immediately took his face into her hands.

"Ryo, it's okay. I'm here now. _We're_ here now. You saved me. You're my hero," she laughed light-heartedly. He smiled thinly in return, but she could tell he was struggling with it.

"How did you know?" she asked softly. "Were you keeping an eye on me?"

"No, I wasn't actually. I just got this...feeling. A really bad feeling and my instinct told me it was involving you."

Kanae stared at him wide-eyed.

"I don't ever want to feel that way again, Kanae. Will you promise to be more careful in the future?" he asked, his voice bordering on urgent.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her tightly. "Yes! I promise!" He returned the embrace and they held each other for a long moment. Kanae inhaled deeply, breathing in the magnificent scent of his spicy masculinity, mixed with the odor of the woods and the fragrance of soap. It was Ryo's essence and its familiarity made Kanae feel like a blanket of calm fell over her.

"I love you," he said softly, stroking her hair.

"I love you, too, Ryo. I'm _so_ glad you're here."

He pulled back. "You said you had something to show me? Or was this it?" he asked, gesturing toward their bodies in close contact.

She smiled widely, unwinding her arms from around his neck and taking his hand again.

"Yes, well, no, there is something I actually want to show you. Well, not something. Someone."

She watched as one of Ryo's brows lowered in curiosity, but she smiled again and began to lead him outside.

"Okay, not just someone. Two someones. Two very special someones."

When she saw the look of recognition on Ryo's handsome features she knew he knew whom she was referring to. Since it was dinner time, or perhaps just after dinner time, she knew where they would be.

As the pair strode through the village, hand-in-hand, Kanae ignored the judgmental gawking of some of her clansmen, but acknowledged the welcoming smiles and gestures from the others. She pointed out the names of the clansmen that were obviously not bothered by Ryosuki being there, and he would nod politely to them.

When they were nearing the home of the two people Kanae wanted Ryo to meet, she asked, "How long can you stay?"

Ryo looked down at her. "I should really start heading home tomorrow."

Her smile was dazzling in response. "Good."

As the house came into view she squeezed Ryo's hand. "Remember I told you about my two nephews?"

Ryo nodded and for a brief moment his dark eyes flickered far away in distant, sad thought. She had told him before that she had an older brother who had two sons. He and his wife were both killed by Uchihas a few years ago. They were speaking about their families and perhaps he was remembering that time, also. She told him they were taken care of by her sister-in-law's sister and she tried to help out as much as she could.

When they approached the door she let herself inside with Ryo following.

"Midori! It's Kanae!" she called.

"Hey, Kanae-hime! I'm in the kitchen!"

Their hands still attached, she led him through the house until they reached the other woman. She was standing at the stove and she turned when she felt their presences, but the happy smile immediately flattened out into a grim line upon seeing whom Kanae brought with her.

"Midori, this is Ryosuki," Kanae told her carefully. Seeing as how the older woman was the caretaker of her nephews, she was pretty close with her. She told her of the weekly meetings between her and Ryo and even told her that she was starting to have romantic feelings for him. Midori was naturally wary of this development since her sister was killed by an Uchiha, but supported Kanae, nonetheless.

A long, uncertain moment passed where Midori only stared at Ryo before she wiped her hands clean on a towel and stepped towards them.

"Kanae-hime has spoken of you many times. It's nice to meet you," she said placidly, sticking her hand out.

"Likewise," Ryo responded, shaking her hand. Internally, Kanae exhaled in relief.

"Where are the boys? I wanted Ryo to meet them."

"They're out back, as usual. They should be sparring, hopefully not ripping each other to shreds." The easy smile that Midori normally wore returned.

"Thanks. Want me to send them in for dinner?"

"Give them fifteen more minutes. It should be done then."

Kanae nodded, and taking Ryo's hand again, proceeded through the kitchen to a large sitting room. A pair of large sliding glass doors was situated on a wall that led to the backyard and she opened them and went through. Ryo closed them behind them.

Kanae smiled hugely at the scene. Her oldest nephew, eleven years old, had long black hair and kept it unbound. If he had it pulled back into a ponytail he would remind her of Ryo. He currently had his little brother, who was seven years old, caught in a head lock, his unkempt locks of silver shaking with his attempts to free himself.

"Hey!" she called, waving to them, and the older one instantly let go of the younger.

"Kanae-obaa-chan!" the eldest one called back.

"There's someone I want you guys to meet!"

They both ran towards them and Kanae giggled as they raced to see who would get there first.

"Boys, this is Ryosuki."

"Konnichiwa," they both greeted pleasantly with little bows.

"This one here," Kanae placed her hand on the older of the two. "Is Hashirama, and this one," she ruffled the younger ones shaggy hair, "is Tobirama."

"It's nice to meet you," Ryo said courteously.

Hashirama tilted his head to the side, looking pensively at Ryo.

"You're an Uchiha, aren't you? I can tell by your clothes."

Ryo nodded, and Kanae could see him watching the young man carefully for his response.

"An Uchiha?" Tobirama asked with awe. "So, you're probably really strong then?"

Ryo chuckled. "Being strong is a merit of hard work by studying and lots of training."

Kanae laughed lightly when both stood up a little more erectly.

"Yosh!" Hashirama answered enthusiastically, picking up on the fact that Ryo supplied him with very important information.

"Kanae-obaa-chan? Can Ryosuki-san spar with us?" Tobirama asked, his light red eyes alighting with excitement.

"Why don't you ask him?"

"Will you please spar with us, Ryosuki-san?" Hashirama asked.

"Yeah, please?" his younger brother piped in.

Ryo chuckled again, and Kanae let go of his hand, breaking out into a glorious smile as she watched the three of them walk out further into the field.

* * *

><p>"Are you okay?" Kanae asked Ryo as they left Midori's house. They had about ten minutes before the fight and they were heading that way.<p>

He was looking straight ahead, but she could tell by the blank look in his eyes that his thoughts were far away, and the mood around them was dismal compared to the playful one they had just moments ago with Hashi-chan and Tobi-chan. He didn't answer immediately and she waited patiently.

"Your clan is...very accepting of me. Of us. It's..." he trailed off ambivalently, as if he wasn't sure if he should voice his thoughts entirely.

Kanae took his hand. "It's what, Ryo?"

He looked down at her, and to anyone else he would have appeared just as stoic and serious as he always did, but she could see the underlying doubt in his features, in his dark eyes.

"It's...I'm not quite sure what to think of it. Part of me wants to believe it's a ruse, an act that will drop my guard, but I already know that's not true." He paused, inhaling deeply before continuing. "If I brought you to my clan..." He didn't finish and shook his head, as if to get rid of the disturbing images that idea produced.

Kanae wasn't sure how to respond. She didn't think 'accepting' was the appropriate word, but it was a little more than tolerance. In all the months she was meeting him and training with him no one seemed to mind, and now that he was here, some acted as if that was inevitable, but others, like Tenzin, didn't want to accept.

"I am going to have a meeting with my father and my clan. Now that many people have seen you here, it is vital that that fact remains hidden. I know it sounds far-fetched, to keep a secret of that magnitude with so many people involved, but it's all we can do at this moment...besides hypnotizing everyone." Kanae playfully shoved him at the last comment, referring to one of his many talents that came from his sharingan.

"Perhaps...perhaps this could open a door. Maybe my clan can first get used to the idea that some of our clansmen socialize with Senju and from there they will grow complacent about it."

Kanae blinked. This sort of speech was so much different than what she was used to hearing from Ryosuki that it was startling. He was being uncharacteristically optimistic about them, which meant a few things: that he was hopeful for them, that he wanted this to continue and for it to continue in the long-term, and that he was already accepting of her clan. Her heart swelled fantastically with so many overwhelmingly good emotions that she had to repress a squeak of joy from escaping. Instead, she lifted Ryo's hand to her mouth and kissed the top of it. Ryo seemed to get the hint and he squeezed her hand in return.

When they arrived to the training grounds she took in the enormous group of people that had showed up, and her heart started to beat a little faster. Ryo had always been good at reading people, especially her, and he squeezed her hand again, sensing her nervousness.

"I'm not supportive of this, Kanae, but if you're going to do it anyway I suppose a 'good luck' is in order."

"Thanks," she muttered sullenly in return, not feeling entirely comforted by his sentiment, or lack thereof.

"I trust you. You're smart enough to know if you're biting off more than you can chew, and if you have confidence that you can put him place, then you will do it."

That was much better. She looked up Ryo and smiled, then nodded seriously, assured. She released his hand and when they got close enough Ryo went to stand by her father as she walked up to Tenzin, who was already present.

"So you came. I thought you might have chickened out," Tenzin jeered.

Kanae stood about five yards away and squared her shoulders to him. "I noticed you didn't bring any weaponry," Kanae said, ignoring his statement.

"You said a challenge. A classic shinobi challenge consists of fighting in hand-to-hand combat," Tenzin said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

_Good, _Kanae thought. She nodded.

"Right. No weaponry. And no jutsu."

"That's fine. I won't have to result to those to beat you."

He was _way_ underestimating her and she was going to prove it to him.

"You know," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. Kanae noted his bulging biceps flex and she knew he did this on purpose to intimidate her. "It's been a while since we've last fought, although involuntary sparring doesn't count as fighting. I'm actually quite curious to see if you've improved. I wonder if there's some trick up your sleeve, because you wouldn't cavalierly challenge me without being prepared. You work in labs all the time. Did you concoct some kind of poison that you merely have to touch me with and I'll be down for the count?"

Kanae shrugged indifferently. "Who knows? Shinobi always have tricks up their sleeves," she responded cryptically. She almost smiled in gratification when his eye twitched in annoyance.

"You do realize how important this is?" she asked, her voice a deadpan. "This is not a game, or sparring for fun."

Just as she had learned and had practiced many times now it was second-nature, she sped up her adrenaline, which in turn caused her chakra to emit a sudden spark of rising fury. To Tenzin - and anyone else close enough to sense - this would be considered killing intent, and she made no attempt to hide it.

"If you do not come at me with the intent to kill, I will not be held responsible for what happens to you," she finished with the barely concealed threat.

The occupants in the field were deadly silent; only the birds chirping in the surrounding forest and the light brushing of leaves could be heard.

Tenzin pointed a finger at her. "You _will_ regret challenging me, Kanae-_hime_."

Kanae took up her stance and Tenzin followed suit. Sometimes a proctor would be overseeing the commencement and completion of the battle, determining the winner, but it went unsaid between them that this was not that kind of fight. As Kanae had said earlier, she was fighting for Ryo's honor and she supposed Tenzin was fighting for his and his clan's. This was personal, a quarrel just between them. The spectators showing up were acting witnesses and when the fight was over the news would be spread of who won. The victor's position would automatically become policy without complaint or resentment; that was the shinobi way.

As soon as she had challenged Tenzin, Kanae had been thinking mostly of her strategy. As the clan head's daughter, she was partly responsible for being knowledgeable of her clansmen's abilities. She knew Tenzin's father, her own father's brother, was famous for his most-enviable water release jutsu. Tenzin had inherited this ability, as well, but since this was going to be fought without the aid of ninjutsu she didn't have to worry about that.

However, she also knew that Tenzin's imposing appearance wasn't merely just that. He was one of the best taijutsu users in the clan and incredibly strong. But this actually worked to Kanae's advantage.

A healer has a specific role in battle: simply, to heal. They are to remain out on the sidelines and out of harm's way and they are not to engage in fighting unless absolutely necessary. If battle comes to them, they are not to counterattack; their job is to dodge and hopefully get out of the way.

Along with Kanae's training as a healer, she also received extensive training with evasive tactics and maneuvers. That was one of the reasons why she was a poor fighter, since she mostly focused on avoidance of combat and escape. What she lacked in taijutsu, however, she made up for in speed and the ability to evade anything and anyone. Unless, of course it was an Uchiha. She had learned pretty quickly that she could still train, now knowing that there are stronger, faster people out there. What she had now that she was pretty sure Tenzin was unaware of was her improved strength with chakra-enhanced taijutsu.

She hadn't practiced sparring with anyone, but she was certain that skill made her far stronger than Tenzin. Could Tenzin knock the top half of a tree off its trunk? Could Tenzin even splinter a tree with a single punch? She didn't think so.

So, unbeknownst to him, he was actually a very good match for her, and what better way to prove her worth by fighting for her love's honor?

It was all quite romantic, actually.

Classically Tenzin, he made the first move. Snarling angrily, he ran towards her, throwing the first punches.

_This is so stupid, _she thought as she easily dodged them, deftly moving side to side, flipping backwards, forwards, spinning and turning. He knew she could move out of the line of a blow better than anyone. It would have been smarter for him to wait for her move first, but this also worked to her advantage.

He was quickly getting frustrated when he saw his efforts going unchecked. Naturally the next step would be to move back and use an offensive attack with jutsu, but that wasn't happening.

"What's wrong?" Kanae asked with feigned innocence, smiling wickedly.

He growled ferociously like a bear disturbed from slumber as he continued to aim punches and kicks at her.

The perfect opening occurred when he jumped in the air and attempted to hit her in the head with a spinning back kick. _That_ was smart. The best way to get her to stop moving was to knock off her ability to think altogether. As soon as his feet left the ground, her foot stomped into the earth.

In the back of her mind she heard the collective gasp of the people watching their fight, but she concentrated on jumping away as the ground beneath her and Tenzin's feet exploded, sending debris flying into the air. But she wasn't done. She ran towards Tenzin again, seeing that he was landing awkwardly on uneven ground, and began her counterattack.

When she reached him his eyes were wide with alarm as he surveyed the scene before him; therefore, his guard had dropped. Kanae threw her fist toward his face and felt the satisfying crunch of his jaw and heard his subsequent squeal of pain as the force of her blow caused him to actually fly backwards through the air until his back hit the ground. He was sandwiched between two pieces of protruding earth.

Just to be certain that he was down, Kanae flipped towards him and she landed just as soon as he did. With a glowing fist, she pulled it back and was ready to give him another. When he saw this, he immediately covered his face, letting out another cry. She kind of expected to have knocked him out, but he was strong after all.

She didn't drop her guard, but remained poised, ready to punch him again, the faint buzzing of her chakra still encompassing her fist and Tenzin's heavy panting and wheezing filling the otherwise silent area.

"I could knock you unconscious or you could forfeit. Choose," Kanae told him sternly.

He uncovered his face and took a look at her glowing fist. Kanae pulled it back further, and since he couldn't speak he slapped his hand on the ground, the signal for a knockdown.

And because Kanae was still angry, she just got up and walked away. When she reached her father and Ryo, both were frowning.

"What?" she asked impatiently. She thought they both would be happy with the win and impressed with her skills.

"You should heal him," Ryo said.

Oh. She looked over at Tenzin who was being helped up by some of the other clansmen. One was looking at her with reproach.

Then she let out a long and weary sigh as if releasing the tension and anger from her body. Replacing those was compassion and a little guilt. She wouldn't want to walk around for any amount of time in his condition. She had won her fight and made her statement; it was over now and they should go back to being civil to one another.

She nodded, bowing to Ryo a little out of appreciation that he thought of it while she hadn't, then went to Tenzin. When she approached she could see both the bitterness and fear in his eyes.

She smiled wanly. "I came to heal you. Will you allow me?" she asked in as easy a tone she could muster.

He stared at her for a long moment, and then nodded and the other people let go of him. When she informed him he could talk, just as Ryo had done, he asked, "What in the hell did you do?"

Her laugh was full of mirth and the tightness in her chest loosened a little more, knowing that he was no longer resentful. She explained to him how she was training with Ryo one day and he got her so pissed that she broke his hand _and_ his jaw and she had been training for the better half of the past week on how she did it.

A corner of his mouth tilted upwards in amusement after hearing of Ryo's encounter with her chakra-laden fist.

But then she looked into her cousin's green eyes and her lips evened out into a serious line. "Tenzin...I know it might be too much to ask for acceptance, but I don't want you to be angry anymore. I know he's an Uchiha, but he's not like how we perceive the rest of them. He's a good man and he really cares for me."

Tenzin, too, frowned grimly. "Kanae-hime, have you considered that he might be using you to get to us?"

She didn't respond in any way.

"You know the Uchiha will stop at nothing and use any underhanded methods imaginable to get what they want. Don't you think-"

"No, I don't think so," she answered, then proceeded to tell him about the scroll.

She watched Tenzin as he looked over to the subject of their discussion and she smiled at the undisguised marvel in his eyes.

"He did that?" he asked in awe.

"Yeah. I know he did it for me, but that still warrants a little respect from our clan, doesn't it?"

Tenzin was silent as he looked to the ground in thought.

"You don't have to make any decisions or anything right now, but for me, can you at least not be so..._mean_ to him?"

Tenzin laughed. "At least not to his face."

Kanae rolled her eyes and as she stood up she offered him a hand. It was a start at least.

* * *

><p>It was determined that Ryo would be staying the night in the Senju clan village, but unfortunately not with her. But that fact didn't deter Kanae. After the clan meeting she requested, she had to essentially sneak to his room. In true shinobi fashion she scaled the wall outside and hung around the window. Before she could let herself in he opened it and beckoned her inside. Thrilled that he was waiting for her, as soon as the window was closed behind her she was on Ryo, pushing him towards the bed.<p>

"What're you doing?" he asked, grasping her shoulders and holding her at bay.

She blinked, not understanding. Apparently she was mistaken that he was waiting for her.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm-"

Ryo rolled his eyes. "I know what you're doing. Why are you trying to do this here?"

Kanae only raised her brows, still not fully comprehending his rejection.

"You...you don't want to...have sex?"

Ryo's gray eyes darkened at her question. He squeezed her shoulders, pulling her to him.

"We can't do that here, Kanae."

She let out a sound of disbelief.

"Oh, so you can have sex with me in other places, just not at my home?"

His brows pushed together in annoyance and he glanced away.

"It's seems...inappropriate."

She was about to protest, but thought of something better.

"Okay, not here, but somewhere else."

She took his hand and began to lead him back out the window.

* * *

><p>"This is where I like to go when I want to be alone."<p>

They had been traveling through the woods surrounding the Senju clan compound for almost an hour. Kanae took him through some of the places where her clansmen liked to train. It was a well known fact in the shinobi world that the Senju had some of the best wood release jutsu users around and Ryo didn't try to hide his amazement. At a few places the vegetation was so thick, the trees twisting and twining together so tightly, like a well coordinated labyrinth, they had to travel around or simply jump over it.

They stopped along a river and Kanae showed Ryo her well-concealed cave.

After Kanae pulled him inside, he made a fire with a katon jutsu.

"Is this acceptable?" she asked, walking up to him and wrapping her arms around his neck.

His response was to take her face into his hands and kiss her hard, and from there they spent the rest of the night just as they had the night before.

* * *

><p>Thanks for silver-footsteps for the beta! She cleans up my messes real good.<p> 


	7. Demise

A/N: I hated writing this chapter. No happy ending here, folks.

Warnings: violence and death. No beta. I apologize for any mistakes.

This is the last chapter, then the prologue.

XP

* * *

><p>Six Months Later<p>

* * *

><p>Kanae leaned back contentedly against the strong heath of Ryo's chest, his thickly muscled arms wrapped around her. She felt like those powerful limbs were a life preserver, something that helped keep her afloat in a drifting world of being a Senju kunoichi; training, reading, studying, learning...generally attempting to become better and stronger. Ryo had become her respite away from it all. Though they were shinobi from enemy clans, being with each other had engendered something neither of them had been particularly looking for: a soul with which to love and comfort one another.<p>

As the months passed and his clan remained unaware of their attachment, they took to seeing each other as often as they could. Right now, Ryo had come to visit Kanae and they were sitting outside their cave. Ryo's back was leaning against a tree, Kanae's back was leaning against him, both overlooking the way the gently flowing brook made the moon's reflection dance and shine on its easy passage. They both thought this was as close to paradise as they could get. The pressing, worrying matter of Ryo's clan possibly finding out about them waned into the recesses of their minds' as time moved forward like the erosion of a prominent structure; the lack of discovery making them grow more unconcerned with each meeting. They decided that it was best if Ryo never returned to the Senju clan estate so they would meet at Kanae's, now _their_, cave, or other places of interest.

The back of Kanae's head was pressed against Ryo's shoulder and with her face turned toward the water, he took advantage of the clearly exposed area of her neck by lightly brushing his lips along it. He felt Kanae shiver. Her head lolled even further to the side and Ryo took this as invitation for his mouth to probe more thoroughly.

"Again?" Kanae asked, emitting a breathy chuckle. "How many times would that make it tonight?"

"Too many to count," Ryo murmured in response against the smooth colonnade of her skin.

They were actually taking a break from what they usually did when they were together, but bringing it up again made Ryo's desire increase tenfold.

"You're insatiable," she whispered slyly as she sat up and turned around to face him. The expression on his face - feral and sensual - made her heart knock against her ribcage faster. He always looked like that when he wanted her. She placed both of her legs on either side of his and settled onto his lap comfortably. She slowly started to take off the thin tank-top she had put back on when they decided to come out of their cave to enjoy the warm night's air. This was the first time they would make love outside of it.

Afterward, they laid on the grass, Kanae's back tucked closely to Ryo's chest once more. She gently stroked his arm that he had draped around her. After a while she felt him moving against her, and she thought that he was repositioning himself to get more comfortable, but then she felt the unmistakable cold of metal pressing against her collarbone and she knew exactly what is was.

She immediately sat up and turned around to eye Ryo with a surprised and questioning gaze, her fingertips tracing along the silver chain until she felt one, two, then three small metal rings.

"Are you sure?" was the only thing she could bring herself to ask. She knew the necklace was an heirloom, passed down throughout the Uchiha clan from father to son. The very idea that he was entrusting this to her meant that he believed one day she could give him a son to whom it could be given next. It was tantamount to a marriage proposal.

His fingers gently slid over her cheek in a caress. She studied his eyes very intensely for any sign of uncertainty, but there was none to be seen. She thought she had never seen him more sure.

"You're the only woman I want to give this to. I know it doesn't coincide with the Senju custom, but-"

"No, it's fine," she said in a broken whisper, barely able to breathe let alone speak. The veracity of his statement coupled with the enormity of his actions brought tears of happiness to her eyes.

One of her hands touched his face as the fingers of her other hand moved delicately over the talisman. "No, no, this is...perfect."

* * *

><p>Ryosuki inhaled a large, nervous breath as he stood outside the clan council room's humongous metal doors. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so anxious. Perhaps when he impulsively took Kanae back to her clan after she almost got captured.<p>

No. Not even then. What he was about to do - to request - was causing him to venture way out of his comfort zone into unknown territory. Even dangerous territory.

He knew his only chance of getting the council to heed his proposal was to humble himself before them - even to the point of groveling. The Uchiha clan elders were disarmed by immediate and genuine humility from other clansmen. Or Ryosuki hoped they would be.

He glanced across the road to an analog timepiece placed on a tower in front of the clan infirmary. He watched as the second hand clicked on the exact time when he asked for the council's audience. After letting out his breath - his shaky exhale sounding foreign to him - he pulled open the doors and went inside.

The seven members were all seated according to their respective places of importance. The two on the outermost seats were of the lowest offices on the council, the next two in holding positions of more significance, and so on until it reached the one person in the center, the clan leader.

Ryosuki kept his expression neutral as he walked across the council room until he stood in front of them, but not too close, as if he thought he had a right to stand near them. As soon as he stopped he prostrated himself, his hands stretching out in front of him as if reaching for the seemingly unattainable favor of his leaders.

He was looking at the hardwood floor he was kneeling on and waited to be acknowledged before he spoke. He didn't dare look up, but he wished he could see their reactions. He imagined some of them being shocked at his meekness and others were probably curious. The only one he knew would be unaffected - at least outwardly - would be the clan head. Ryosuki was a distant relative of the man, but he knew that the older Uchiha was a complex human being that was not to be trifled with. He had heard stories and even knew other clansmen who had died simply because their clan leader was displeased with some of their words.

Ryosuki felt his shoulders starting to tremble slightly, the ominous air of silence weighing him down.

Finally, one man cleared his throat. "Rise, Ryosuki."

He followed the command, his eyes scanning the seven men sitting neatly in a row at the council table.

The same man continued. "We have convened here at your behest. State your purpose."

Before Ryosuki could gather his words, he couldn't help but compare the abrupt, straight-to-the-point manner in which he was directed to that of Kanae's clan. The Senju, and their council, were laid back and teasing while, at the same time, serious enough to conduct business. The difference was so diametrical that it discouraged Ryosuki.

He could back out now, explaining that he decided the matter that he wanted to bring up to them was insignificant and it was wrong to assume they should be bothered with it. Or he could lie and bring up something trivial. But he had been contemplating this decision for months. He loved Kanae, was unwilling to let her go, and the only way they could be together was if his clan accepted it. He had to take this chance.

Ryosuki solidified his resolve. He stood up a little straighter, squaring his shoulders resolutely to his leaders, and began to speak.

* * *

><p>Kanae was starting to grow restless. Ryosuki sent word for her to meet him today. She arrived late morning; it was now nearing mid afternoon. She had been training all day outside their cave more to distract herself from her worry than to be productive. Being from the Uchiha and extremely disciplined, Ryo was very punctual; it was unlike him to be late or to not notify her if he wasn't able to make it.<p>

When evening was drawing nearer as evidenced by the diffused light of the forest, Kanae wasn't sure what to do. Should she stay here and assume he'll show up eventually or even tomorrow? Should she go back home and attempt to make contact with him? She did know one thing for certain: if he wasn't here he had a damn good reason not to be. Perhaps he was injured while on a mission. Her anxiousness started to turn into frustration. She was a healer, and the possibility of him being hurt while she could help him but wasn't near him was aggravating.

She decided to stay for the night and save him the trip of going to her home.

* * *

><p>Kanae didn't know what time it was, but knew it was pretty late, or pretty early, depending on perspective. Her internal clock told her it was probably just past midnight and she realized belatedly that she woke with a start because she felt a chakra signature nearby.<p>

_Ryosuki! _she crowed to herself as she jumped up from where she was sleeping beside a fire inside the cave and immediately ran to the exit. She was just about to go through the threshold when she felt Ryosuki about to cross it, as well. She ran straight to him and opened her arms.

"Ryo! Are you okay? I wasn't sure-"

But she was abruptly stopped by a pair of hands clutching roughly at her shoulders, holding her back. She frowned, but then gasped in horror as she realized that in her excitement she thought Ryo arrived, but it wasn't him. She attempted to wrest herself free, but then her back suddenly met the cave wall. The opening to the cave was a ways from her fire so in the dim light she couldn't see who this person was, but when they turned their face a certain way she saw the red gleam of a sharingan reflecting from the thin ray of the moon making its way into the cave. She could only stare, dumbstruck, as a tall man used his forearm and pushed against her throat, a piece of protruding cave wall digging painfully into her back.

Before he could completely restrain or incapacitate her she swung a fist towards the side of head. She put chakra into it and her blow effectively caused him to collapse onto the cave floor unconscious. She should really check to see how much damage he sustained, but he was obviously trying to hurt her. She hated to do it, but she couldn't have him following her or calling for help; she knelt over him and with the heel of her palm struck one leg just above the knee and did the same to the other. Because he was already unconscious, all she got in response to breaking his legs was a hard jolt from his body. Then she took his hands in both of hers and clapped them together. She heard the sharp crunch of bone breaking and splintering and cringed at what kind of pain he would be experiencing when he finally came to. If she was really cruel, she would take a kunai and gouge out his eyes so he no longer possessed a sharingan, but she sat back and stared at the unrecognizable face of an Uchiha, pondering this decision. Bones could be healed, and since she wasn't going to kill him he would know it was her that took his sharingan. He was still Ryo's clansmen, a family member, and for his sake she decided to keep his dojutsu intact.

All kinds of thoughts jumbled chaotically in Kanae's mind as she hastily packed up her belongings and doused the fire. That man obviously knew she was here, and the only way an Uchiha would know that was if Ryo told him. She's known Ryo for almost a year now, and knew he would never turn against her. The Uchiha lying unmoving on the ground was probably a scout. Either Ryo was found out, he made a grave error in judgement, or he willingly told his clan about her. Acute fear gripped Kanae fiercely as she ran back out of the cave. If Ryo wasn't here and another Uchiha was sent to see if she was, than Ryo was probably being held prisoner - by his own clan - had escaped, or was dead. Should she go find him?

Tears pricked her eyes as she sprinted with all the strength she had from the cave. Worry and despair melded with her fear, but she tried to quash those, knowing if she dwelt on her emotions for any length of time it would only slow her down.

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, like ghosts emerging from the invisible spirit world, she felt numerous chakra signatures around her. Some above her, in the trees, some coming at her from the sides in the forest, and others before her and behind her. She was surrounded.

She let out a squeak of distress as she sensed and knew there was no escape for her. She stopped abruptly, reaching into her weapons holster for a kunai, her body automatically responding to the threat of a physical confrontation, but her mind knew she stood absolutely no chance.

Just as she recognized the sharingan in the cave by the faint light of the moon, she saw what seemed like infinite pairs of red staring back at her. Her knees started to shake and she clutched her kunai so tightly the muscles in her arm began to tremble as well.

Slowly and silently they converged on her. She wasn't as adept at reading chakra signatures as Ryo, but she could sense him even in an army full of Uchihas. It was almost imperceptible, feeble and lackluster from its normal vibrancy, but she felt it before she saw him. She stood frozen in place, her heart pounding, sounding like timpani drums in her ears, staring earnestly into the general area where she knew her lover was approaching. Finally, when he came into view, she realized why his chakra was in such a poor state. He was being dragged by two other Uchihas on either side of him and he was in very bad condition. His hair was disarrayed, one of his eyes swollen shut and Kanae could see the shiny wetness of blood smeared in various places on his face. He was incredibly weak, but conscious and she saw his head perk up slightly as they approached her.

She let out a choked cry, so badly wanting to go to him, but her enemies creeping towards her kept her rooted in place. Her chest tightened despairingly as she took in all of Ryo's appearance and tears threatened to blur her vision, but she couldn't allow that to happen. All of her faculties needed to be at one-hundred percent in this moment, so she took in huge breaths and blinked desperately against them.

They encroached until they were just feet away and Kanae spun to see there was no way out. She counted at least a dozen. One of her brows lowered in confusion. Why did they bring so many just to capture her, as they clearly were intending on doing? If they just wanted to do away with her all they needed was a simple four cell team...and perhaps not even that many.

No one was speaking, and she got the impression they were waiting for her. She shook her head minutely. None of this was really making sense, but she focused on her immediate concern.

"What did you do to Ryosuki?" she tried to demand in her most authoritative voice, but it only came out as a broken whisper.

Long, tense moments of silence followed. The atmosphere was thick and suffocating with deadly auras. Kanae desperately kept her emotions in check when all she wanted to do was sob in anguish. Why did they do that Ryo? Why did they bring him here?

Suddenly it all dawned on her. He had been hinting to her in the past few months about attempting to explain their situation to his clan. His comments were halfhearted and sometimes said in a joking way, and Kanae didn't really believe him. She was satisfied with what was happening between them. He must have done it without talking to her about it. And this was result.

As the realization impacted her completely, the tears she had been so steadfastly suppressing finally broke through and with a stifled cry she fell to her knees. They weren't going to let them be together. They weren't going to accept. Worse...they were punishing Ryo, and who knows what they were going to do to her.

"Please..." The word slipping out of her mouth sounded strangled and pleading. "Let him go. Please...take me."

The last word had barely left her mouth before she felt a tremendous slash of pain rip across her face. The blow was so quick and furious, like the crack of a whip, that she didn't even realize she had been struck until she was flying through the air. She landed on her side with a hard thud and it forced out a grunt of pain.

"No!" she heard Ryo's muffled shout and looked up just in time to see one of the men holding him twist his body and send a kick flying straight at his face. The crack of bone resounded piercingly through the silent forest as Kanae watched in horror as Ryo's head pitched forward and blood started to gush from his nose.

"Stop!" Kanae yelled, instinctively attempting to get to her feet. Her head was thrown back violently as she felt the sting and pull of her hair.

"Speak again and I will kill you," came the deep, haunting voice of an Uchiha behind her, restraining with a hand in her hair and another holding her arms behind her. Kanae sucked in and let out sharp, panting breaths as she was petrified to silence.

In her periphery, another Uchiha was walking casually, like he was leisurely strolling through a beautiful garden, making his way from his spot in the strategic circle to walk towards the center. Kanae focused on the man completely. His blank face indicated he was completely undaunted with the situation and it affirmed Kanae's appalling comprehension as to why so many of them showed up. Ryo was being publicly disgraced. The frightening anticipation of dread flooded through Kanae as she wondered if Ryo's clansmen were going to kill them.

When the man stopped in the middle, all eyes were on him as he turned slowly to look at her.

"You weren't lying, Ryosuki-san, when you said she would be here."

Kanae gritted her teeth, wondering if they tortured him into submitting her location or if he willingly told them.

No. Ryo would never sell her out like that. It was probably the former.

Kanae's eyes narrowed furiously as the Uchiha kept watching her and he strode indifferently towards her. He didn't stop until he was directly before her and she stared defiantly into gleaming crimson orbs.

"You didn't mention how beautiful she was," he said lowly, kneeling before her and bringing his hand to her face and sliding a finger along the side of it. Kanae cringed away, her skin crawling.

"Don't fucking touch her!" she heard Ryo say, his tone incensed, but his voice was raspy and weak. Her heart broke and swelled with pride simultaneously.

An abrupt punch to his stomach had Kanae's steadily streaming tears gushing and she cried, "Please! Don't do this!"

The man in front of her grasped her chin harshly and forced her to look up at him.

"You have no room to make demands, little Kanae-hime." The man's voice was wickedly low and dark. His blood-red eyes glinted menacingly at her and she couldn't help but look away from the all-consuming gaze.

Suddenly he stood up and turned his back on her.

"Let this be a lesson to you all. If you decide to go against the decrees of the Uchiha, there will be dire consequences," he announced flatly, and Kanae looked up in time to watch him nod his head toward Ryo.

It happened too fast for Kanae to process, but it seemed to make time slow altogether. She was staring relentlessly into her lover's one open eye one second, and the next she watched as the same Uchiha that had kicked him in the face and punched him in the stomach step behind Ryo. He grabbed the sides of Ryo's face with both hands and with one quick and efficient twist, there was an unequivocal crack of bone as Kanae helplessly watched life leave his body.

There was one long second of utter silence as Kanae saw Ryo's body slump and as the man behind him released his hold, Ryo's body fell face forward onto the ground.

After that, Kanae barely registered a high keening sound and her head felt tremendously hot and compounded with pressure. Her stomach rolled and her mouth rapidly filled with saliva. Despite being held from behind, she pulled herself forward slightly and vomited on the ground in front of her. _Oh. That sound is me_ Kanae realized dully as the shrieking sound stopped after she threw up. The person relinquished his hold on her, and she pitched forward, still gagging as one of her hands dropped directly onto the spot of her upturned stomach contents. She didn't care, though. Immediately she began wailing again, but this time there was an acute and intense pain, just below her breasts, and she realized that someone had kicked her in the ribs. It was hard enough that it threw her onto her back, and she stared wide eyed and panicked up at the clear, velvety dark sky dotted with stars as she inhaled huge, seeking breaths, having the wind knocked out of her.

"Make sure you collect his eyes. Those can be used later," she heard the statement distantly.

"What do we do with the princess?" one asked.

"Bring her."

Kanae tried to sit up as she processed their exchanges but another Uchiha stepped up to her and pressed a foot against her chest. She looked up, again, into an ominous pair of red. Before she could speak or react, the man and the inky blackness of the night behind him began to swirl.

_What? _the voice in her mind gasped._ What's happening?_ _Am I going mad?_

But as the images continued to whirl, going faster and faster, her eyes started to slip closed and the last thing she thought was how powerful the sharingan was as it hypnotized her to unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>Kanae awoke to several distinct pains that immediately made her realize her plight. A headache, her face where she had been slapped, and her ribcage where she had been kicked. She sat up quickly, but slumped back down onto whatever surface she had been laid upon, vertigo hitting her hard. She felt nauseous again and fleetingly thought if she could get something to eat to ease the pain of her hunger than she would be fine. Then she remembered why she was hungry in the first place.<p>

A long, mournful moan escaped Kanae as she curled up on her side into a fetal position.

_Ryo...Ryo's gone..._

Emptiness and deep, swallowing sadness engulfed her.

She didn't know how much time passed as she laid there unmoving and suffering, staring blankly at the far wall of what appeared to be a holding cell. Most likely an Uchiha holding cell. It was dark, but she could make out the vague lines of cinder blocks. She briefly remembered a conversation she and Ryo had long ago, at a point in time when they were still enemies. He had threatened to take her back to his clan and to an Uchiha holding cell if she didn't create more of her special medicine for him. She almost laughed bitterly at the irony. This was probably what he was referring to.

_So they took me alive and are apparently keeping me alive _Kanae thought dully as the fingers of her hands absently grazed the winding lines of the cold cement floor beneath her. So, what was going to happen now? She was a prisoner, being held captive for...ransom? A bargaining asset?

Kanae again thought back to the same conversation she and Ryo had and it brought to mind what else he said: _"They will appreciate what you have to offer," _also remembering the double entendre of those words._  
><em>

Was Ryo really serious, that perhaps they would use her in more ways than the obvious ones she presented as being the daughter of their rival clan and a healer, or was he just trying to scare her into submission? She involuntarily shivered at the ideas that her mind conjured if it was the former.

Subconsciously, she knew she should be listening to her surroundings, gauging if she was being guarded, and if so, how many guards there were. She should have been more proactive in perhaps finding a way to escape, if that was possible, and coming up with that plan and how she was going to get away undetected, but she just couldn't find it within herself to do any of it.

She didn't care. She just simply didn't care. Ryo was gone. What was the point in even trying to stay alive with him gone?

Minutes or hours could have passed and Kanae wasn't completely aware - or even caring - of them. Her vacant eyes stayed locked onto her cell wall and she drowned herself in the agonizing misery of intense heartache. She had lost her mother so many years ago, when she was still very young, so therefore never really felt the impact of that loss. She lost her brother and his wife a few years later and back then she thought that was difficult, but what she was experiencing now was so beyond the scope of what she had ever felt, it was the first time in her life where she contemplated ending her own of her own accord.

The vague thought somewhat startled her, but she was so immersed in her repressed state that she didn't reflect on it any more than superficially. It didn't really matter because the choice of her own life was no longer in her hands. She was trapped with the Uchiha clan and either they were going to kill her or not.

Kanae's fists clenched at the prospect of never leaving this God-forsaken place. Almost as infuriating as a clan snubbing out one of their own needlessly was not leaving her the opportunity to do what she wanted with her life.

She didn't think she was ever capable of truly hating anyone or anything. Even after her mother died on an innocuous mission...even after her brother and sister-in-law died at the hands of the very people who currently held her prisoner...but she knew with all of her heart and soul, at this moment, that she _hated_ the Uchiha, despised them with every iota of her existence. There was nothing good about this clan. They could never be redeemed. She might never get the chance to speak to her father again, but if she did, more important than telling him that she loved him, she would warn him to rid this world of the wretchedness that is the Uchiha clan.

But then she immediately felt guilty. _Her_ Uchiha was good.

She wanted the whole story. What happened that made them murder Ryo? One of the Uchiha's had said that Ryo had not lied when he told them she was there at their cave. That information was obviously given up involuntarily, seeing the condition in which Kanae saw Ryo last.

Ryo must have attempted to talk to some of his clansmen about her, about their situation. And the worst happened because of it.

Finally, the tears Kanae didn't think would ever return did as she allowed emotions other than desolation to overtake her. Fury and grief also made up the synthesis of her disposition and she slowly sat up, thinking of what her lover would have done in her position, or more importantly, what he would want her to do now.

He would not want her to give up, that was for damn sure. The devastation she felt that made her almost want to end her own life he would not only not agree with, but would also enrage him.

_"You're stronger than this, Kanae," _she imagined him saying to her. _"You have other people who depend on you...your father, Hashirama, Tobirama, your clan...the entire ninja world is not finished learning of your greatness! You still have a job to do!"_

Yes, her father, her precious little nephews, her clan and all the other shinobi clans that desired to see an end to the division and hatred that has, for generations, been sowed among them...her job was to help bring about the peace that so many of them have longed for. Even if it wasn't possible for the Uchiha...

_No. _Kanae shook her head, pushing the pessimistic thoughts out. Despite what has happened, she knew there had to be some good in the Uchiha. She had already witnessed that good firsthand in Ryo. There _had_ to be more.

She took on a new challenge: to help bring the Uchiha to peace with the other shinobi clans...even if they resisted it to the point of bringing about more unnecessary deaths...she would make this happen. She didn't know how to do that right now with how bleak her situation appeared at the moment, but with the help of her father, of other clans, and the strength of Ryo's love and legacy in her heart guiding her, she knew she could find a way.

Her body was not following her newly invigorated mind as she attempted to stand on her feet and she swayed, the room spinning. She needed to wait and get her bearings straight. If she could have only a little food and water, her mind would be at 100% and capable of coming up with an escape plan.

When the walls were finally staying in one place, Kanae looked at them again, this time in concentrated curiosity. She wondered if the Uchiha knew of her ability to smash through seemingly impenetrable objects with just a fist. If they didn't, then she would have no problem getting out of here. She could even do it quietly, since she could control the amount of chakra and force that would be used. The problem was, what was on the other side? Another cell? She couldn't continue to punch through walls and think she wouldn't get caught.

She sat back down in an indian-style manner, closed her eyes, and became extremely still. She deliberately inhibited the processes of her lungs to slow her breathing so it was quieter. She focused her hearing intently on the environment. If she could get a feel for where she might be, what the building of her holding cell was surrounded with, she might be able to find the best way out that wouldn't leave her exposed.

Next, she attempted to feel for other chakra signatures. She was never really good at it, but practicing with Ryo had made her better.

When she felt nothing, she frowned. Surely the holding cells had to be guarded by at least one person, but it was as if she was completely forgotten for there was no one else around. That didn't make any sense. Unless they were masking their signatures, but that didn't make sense either.

Then realization hit. Testing, she opened her eyes and slammed both of her fists into the ground on both sides of her. The sensation of chakra shooting through her body never happened. Her chakra had been sealed.

_What? _She stood up abruptly, panicked. There was no way she would escape without her chakra! How did they do it? She looked around herself and on herself. She didn't feel any different, in relevance to her chakra. She knew there were ways to seal someone's chakra, but the most conventional method was to use chakra-suppressing handcuffs. If it was a jutsu someone used on her, then it was probably only that person that could release it.

"Damn it!" she hissed, fury and fear overriding her optimism. If she couldn't have escaped by herself then she could have summoned Kuma, but without her chakra she was completely helpless!

As if sensing her powerlessness and were coming to taunt her about it, she heard voices echoing faintly and growing louder as they approached. They were probably finally coming to see her.

She wondered what kind of state she should make them see her in that would benefit her the most. Her unpremeditated reaction would be defiance. She would let them know that she was not going to cooperate and they would have to torture and kill her.

But she had to stay alive, for her clan and for Ryo. She hurriedly shuffled to the corner and sat down, slumping against the wall. She was already hungry and in pain in various places so it wouldn't be too hard to appear weak. She leaned her head against the cement and closed her eyes, schooling her expression to be a combination of misery, discomfort and fatigue.

As the footsteps drew closer, she listened attentively to the words being exchanged.

_"I only want to speak with her before you make that decision. That's all I ask."_

Kanae's eyebrows shot up in surprise and dismay. The voice was of a woman.

Kanae's heart began to drum faster as the possibilities turned in her mind. The woman could be anyone, but she specifically wanted to speak to Kanae, so she assumed it concerned Ryo.

She listened further, discerning how the tone of the woman's voice sounded, but nothing further was said. The little she did hear was difficult to decode. The woman didn't sound angry or happy. Emotionless was not necessarily a good thing.

The soft clicking of footfalls against cement eventually became louder until they stopped just outside her cell. Though the barred window was too high to see the faces of people on the other side, Kanae's gaze focused on it nonetheless, waiting anxiously for the moment when it would be opened.

_"May I have a few minutes alone, please?"_

Kanae's eyes now widened in shock. The woman's voice was now meek, almost earnest. And she didn't want an audience to whatever she was going to say or do with her. Kanae thought this wasn't boding well for her at all.

_"That is not advisable,"_ a man answered her. _"Besides, I was given specific instructions not to let anyone-"_

_"Please,"_ the woman practically pleaded. _"She is responsible for the death of my son. I just want a few minutes. Alone."_

Kanae felt like she swallowed a brick and it was lodged heavily into her stomach. That was Ryo's mother! Kanae attempted with all the self-control she possessed not to allow panic to overtake her again. She kept her breathing even and her eyes closed as she stayed in her huddled spot in the corner.

_"I will give you fifteen minutes,"_ was the verdict and after a short pause the door creaked open.

Kanae opened her eyes as if the sudden noise jolted her awake. She sat up a little straighter then shrunk in on herself. To be honest, she was very afraid, so her actions probably came off as authentic rather than already thought out. She eyed the woman that slowly walked into the cell. The woman didn't meet her eyes, but turned around to watch the guard close then lock the cell door before turning back to Kanae.

Ryo had told Kanae that his mother used to be a kunoichi, but when she married his father she gave up the shinobi life to raise him. She looked every bit the part of a housewife, but what she did next completely bewildered Kanae.

Ryo's mother hadn't faced her yet, but turned to the side slightly so Kanae could see her profile. The woman's eyes were closed and a few beats of uncertain silence passed until she molded chakra with her pointer and middle finger.

Kanae could only stare in wonder and fear. Was the woman...Ryo's mother...preparing her chakra to use a jutsu to torture her? Kanae thought she could handle torture. To a certain extent, as every shinobi should be, she was trained with how to endure circumstances of physical and psychological torture, but Ryo's _mother_ coming here to do it herself? Kanae never considered that and suddenly wasn't sure she would be able to withstand it.

Kanae started to tremble. After a few more moments of watching the woman gather her chakra, Kanae started as the older woman suddenly turned to look back at her and strode directly to where she sitting in the corner. The space was small and she was towering over her in mere seconds and all Kanae could do was let out a distressed gasp and cover herself instinctively from a blow she was sure was coming.

"Kanae-hime," Ryo's mother addressed her in a disturbingly non-confrontational tone. "Please, we don't have a moment to spare."

When Kanae didn't move she felt her arms being pulled away from her and she let out another sound of stress.

"Look at me," the woman commanded in a soft voice, then she felt a slight pressure under her chin. "I don't know what those bastard Uchihas have done to you, but please know that I'm not here to hurt you."

It wasn't only the words but the unmistakable tone of urgency that made Kanae look up.

"There," the dark-haired woman smiled slightly in satisfaction. "When my son told me how beautiful you were, I thought he was exaggerating."

For a fraction of a second, Kanae experienced a flashback of the conversation she and her cousin had at the dinner table during Ryo's first and only visit to her clan estate. Her cousin had also said she thought Kanae was exaggerating Ryo's good looks but was proven wrong.

Kanae started to cry then. Looking into the dark eyes that were so similar to the man she'd lost, deep, almost crippling sobs escaped her, and her entire body convulsed with the energy of them.

"I-I...I'm...s-s-sorry...!" She wanted to express _everything_ to this woman; how much she loved Ryo, all that he had done for her, what he thought about her clan and his clan..._everything_, but all that came out was a stammering apology.

"Shh." Ryo's mother's arms immediately encircled Kanae and she continued to whisper words of encouragement. Listening to her soothing words and gleaning from her comfort Kanae was able to calm down within a minute.

"We don't have time to talk about that, but lets suffice it to say that I know it wasn't your fault."

Kanae swiftly wiped the tears from her eyes. "So, you know what happened?"

Ryo's mother's eyes turned hard, flint black in the dim light of the cell. "I was informed last night." She looked down, her bottom lip trembling. "It was also discovered that my husband, Ryosuki's father, had slit his own throat after he received the news."

Kanae's eyes widened and she watched as the older woman took in a large, steadying breath and then fully composed herself.

"I came here because now I have nothing. I know my son loved you. What happened to him-" she stopped suddenly, shaking her head. "Well, I've never really felt much loyalty to this clan, but now they've taken everything from me."

She took a hold of Kanae's shoulders. "I'm here to help you escape."

And once again, just as before, the woman molded her chakra and turned to face the door to the cell. And then Kanae knew what she was doing.

"You're a chakra sensor?" she asked Ryo's mother. The woman was checking to see if they were being eavesdropped on.

The older woman smiled thinly and nodded. "I'm the only person who is able to help you get out of here."

Kanae nodded knowingly, but then frowned. "I can't...I don't have...they've sealed my chakra."

"I know," the other woman answered. "I can unseal it for you."

Ryo's mother reached into the pockets of her kimono and pulled out a few things. She handed some off to Kanae right away.

"This is all the food I could bring without raising any suspicion. Please eat and it will start restoring your strength and help rebuild your chakra faster."

Kanae immediately complied, eagerly digging into the few morsels and then drinking from the water bottle. She watched as Ryo's mother unfolded a scroll and turned it to face Kanae. "This is a map of the surrounding area. We will use this for your escape from this guardhouse and away from the clan residence. The forests encompassing the Uchiha estate are vast, confusing and well-guarded. We will have to time this very carefully."

Kanae hadn't fully known the impossibility of attempting to escape by herself, but with the help of Ryo's mother it seemed possible. It was the only option she had.

"What is your name?" Kanae asked suddenly, realizing she didn't know.

Ryo's mother cocked her side to the side slightly, her features turning thoughtful, a corner of her mouth tilted upward with affection.

"Um...Ryo always just referred to you as his 'mother,'" Kanae mumbled, thinking that it was odd that Ryo spoke so much of her but neglected to say her actual name.

"Ryo?" the older woman asked softly, her still affectionate smile widening.

"Yeah," Kanae grinned sheepishly. "That's what I called him."

"My name is Sumiko."

"It's...nice to meet you," Kanae said, her voice sounding sad.

"It is unfortunate our meeting is under these circumstances, but I was afraid I was never going to meet you." Sumiko shook her head. "We do not have the time right now," she abruptly stated. "First things first, lets unseal your chakra."

Sumiko hastily untied her obi and handed it to Kanae.

"Bite into this. The unsealing is painful."

Kanae's eyes grew wider in alarm and trepidation as she did as she was instructed.

"Ready?" Sumiko asked. The sweet, smiling woman that was Ryo's mother was gone and was replaced with a hard-nosed kunoichi.

Kanae nodded tightly, bracing herself for the inevitable pain. After a series of complex looking hand-signs, Sumiko placed her hands onto Kanae's shoulders. As soon as Kanae could feel Sumiko's chakra surge into her, all of her muscles locked and froze as if they suddenly turned to stone. She didn't make a sound, but her teeth were grinding so hard against the fabric of Sumiko's obi that Kanae thought she would chomp right through it. It felt as if acid was running through her veins, but just as soon as the pain entered, it was gone. It left Kanae sweaty and panting.

"It will take a few hours for your chakra to be completely restored, but I will need at least twenty-four hours anyway. I have never had to learn the patterns and routine of our sentries, but as soon as I have memorized their stations and the times they move and where, I will come back for you. I know for a fact that you will not be harmed. Our council is already occupied with other matters and they are not meeting to discuss you for a few days hence."

Kanae was shaking her head, attempting to compute all of the information that was being shoved at her. This was all happening so fast!

"Take the map and study it. This holding facility is labeled and from there you can memorize the area."

Kanae nodded, taking it, rolling it back up and placing it within her tunic.

"It will be tempting, but you cannot heal your superficial wounds until the time of escape. For now, only heal the internal injuries, if there are any. If the guards come and discover any change to you at all they will know that it was me who helped you. You must do it now while I'm with you. If anyone is paying attention, if they feel a chakra signature and chakra output they will assume it's me."

Kanae nodded, immediately gathering what little chakra she had to heal the contusions from the kick to the ribs and her aching head.

"After I do my research, I will be back here to help. The only way you can escape is not by sneaking past the guards, but by avoiding them altogether. Ryosuki has also mentioned to me your tremendous ability to use chakra to enhance your strength. I trust that you can break down these walls?" Sumiko pointed to a wall of Kanae's cell.

"Yes. As long as I have my chakra, that won't be a problem. I can even do it quietly so it won't bring attention."

Sumiko appeared pleased. "Excellent. That will certainly benefit us. On the other side of that wall-" Sumiko pointed, again, to the wall opposite the door. "Is forest. We were lucky in your placement in this holding facility. If we time everything carefully and precisely, you shouldn't have a problem getting out of here."

Kanae couldn't control the huge smile that was spreading across her face. She threw her arms around Sumiko. "Thank you!" she whispered fiercely, feeling hopeful for the first time.

* * *

><p>When Sumiko left Kanae waited. And waited. And waited some more until an appropriate amount of time had passed and she knew she wasn't going to be disturbed again. She pulled the map out out from beneath her clothes and with what little light there was committed it to memory, her eyes scanning the parchment over and over and over. When she closed her eyes she could still visualize the shapes and lines the map comprised of with perfect accuracy and was certain she knew the Uchiha estate just as well as any Uchiha now. Not wanting to risk getting caught with it, and since she didn't have the aid of jutsu to help her get rid of it, she folded the scroll until it was a tiny square that could be folded no more, slipped off her boot, placed it at the bottom, and put it back on. If any Uchiha were to come in here to 'search' her, they would probably be conducting that search <em>above<em> the knees.

She meditated the rest of the time, sitting still and peacefully as if at home, completely unperturbed. In her mind she ran through dozens of scenarios of how to escape, hoping a deluge of envisages would better prepare her for the actuality of the act.

All the while she kept her chakra carefully quelled like it hadn't been unsealed at all.

Kanae started paying attention to time then. As much as she could anyway, since there was no window in her cell. She could only estimate how much time had passed since Sumiko visited her and it was three hours later when her first meal arrived. By the looks of what was on the metal plate, it gave no indication of what time of day it was since the brown slop they were probably trying to pass off as porridge could be given for any meal, breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Kanae guessed it was probably breakfast, but what seemed like about four hours later the same goop arrived, but this time with water, she no longer could guess the time of day.

Unlike the last time when Sumiko brought her water, she didn't gulp this down, though she desperately wanted to. Her first serving of a beverage was one-hundred percent absorbed and Kanae knew it was because she was probably severely dehydrated. If she drank this helping all in one sitting she would have to go to the bathroom in only a matter of time. Kanae looked around her cell dubiously. There was nothing to go to the bathroom in and didn't relish the idea of just going in the corner, so she sipped the water every once in a while.

The food, despite how horrible it tasted, helped her to feel drowsy. She laid back down on the cement, closed her eyes, and allowed herself to rest uneasily, praying that by the time she woke up it would be time to escape.

* * *

><p>Kanae awoke to a very peculiar feeling. She was feeling warm, or rather, a certain part of her was feeling warmer than the rest of her. She stood up quickly and realized it wasn't a "warm" feeling, but an odd sensation of her foot feeling like it was not in her boot anymore, like she was walking barefoot on cement and then onto sand.<p>

_The scroll! _she realized, hastily pulling off her footwear and turning it over. She watched as the tightly folded scroll fell to the ground, glowing blue.

_Shit! _It looked like some kind of jutsu. Jutsu required chakra. If a jutsu was being activated then the chakra could be felt. She snatched it up and her fingers fumbled clumsily as she hastened to unfold it. At the bottom of the map was words that Kanae knew were not there before.

_Now is the time _it began. _As soon as you are done reading this message, destroy the scroll. With as little sound as possible, break through the southern wall of your cell. I am waiting for you. From there we will proceed. Sumiko._

This was it.

Kanae's heart thumped wildly in her chest as she immediately dropped the manuscript on the floor, and with a burst of chakra to the bottom of her foot, ground it to dust. There was absolutely no trace of it.

A kaleidoscopic myriad of emotions bombarded Kanae all at once; fear, nervousness, apprehension, elation, sadness...but she experienced them for only a second before she guided the exact amount of chakra she thought it would take and brought her fist to the wall. When her hand met cold air she backed up and anxiously watched as the cement of the wall above the hole she created began to break and start falling. Falling cement meant sound.

Using chakra, she pushed the raining cement out of her way and in seconds she was standing outside. Much to her surprise it was daytime! Not having seen light in who knows how many days she squinted against the brightness of a perfectly sunny day.

"Kanae!" she heard a fierce whisper and turned to find Sumiko running towards her. "Follow me! Lets go!"

They immediately started running through a clearing to the south towards the forest. From the map Kanae memorized she knew the forest was their best chance to escape. But in the daytime?

As if hearing the question in her head, Sumiko said, "The compound is more heavily guarded at night. It's not as guarded in day because it's easier to see things, but if we avoid the sentry than the daytime can be used to our advantage."

Kanae nodded. Made sense.

As they crossed the line from the field into the trees Kanae felt like gushing out a huge breath of relief, but didn't allow herself. She couldn't even afford that. They still weren't out of the clear yet. Kanae wasn't even sure when that would be. How long would it actually take them to reach territory where the Uchiha didn't have jurisdiction over their lives? Not until they were in an area with enough witnesses to hinder any foul play from the Uchiha or even until they came upon the Senju estate, Kanae surmised. Miles. They would have to run for miles at top speed. Kanae was prepared for this, though, and she didn't even give herself the chance to think of anything else except _keep running. _

Kanae knew they were passing the five mile mark when an inauspicious feeling crept along her spine. Something wasn't right. This was too easy._  
><em>

Kanae was too focused on her breathing and the sounds of her feet making contact with the earth that she almost ran into Sumiko when she abruptly stopped.

"Wha-?" Kanae started to ask but she was cut off when Sumiko swiftly put up a hand to silence her. She watched as Ryo's mother looked all around them, her eyes flashing extreme anxiety. Then, she suddenly turned to Kanae.

"Go. I'll hold them off for as long as I can."

Kanae's eyes instantly widened, but so many questions flew through her thoughts. "W-we're...we're being followed?"

"Yes. It will only be a matter of time before they catch us," Sumiko answered quickly, in a manner that intoned they didn't have time for this discussion. "_Go."_

Kanae shook her head angrily, vehemently. "No! I'm not leaving you here to die! We fight them together!"

Sumiko withdrew two kunai from a weapons holster. "I can feel we're severely outnumbered. We can't fight them off with just the two of us. Ryosuki would kill me again in the afterlife if he found out that I didn't do everything I possibly could to help you escape!"

"Sumiko! We can fight them together! Please! You can come back with me to my home!"

The way Sumiko turned to Kanae and the way her eyes, once blazing with anticipation of a fight now turned resolute helped Kanae determine the truth of what was happening.

"You knew," Kanae said in an almost whisper. "You knew there was no chance once we reached the woods. You planned on being a decoy the whole time so I could escape!"

The horrible realization crushed Kanae and she felt her knees buckle but then Sumiko pushed into her side roughly. "You must go _now_ if there is any chance!"

The two seconds Kanae took to contemplate on what she should do were frighteningly similar to the moments of utter terror she experienced just after Ryo was killed. She threw her arms around Ryo's mother and held her tightly. "Thank you!" Her throat was tight with stress and emotion. When she released Sumiko, instead of running, she molded chakra to teleport herself away from her current location. She didn't know where it would take her, and it would use up most of her chakra reserves, but she knew it would take her farther away in a faster amount of time. With one last desperate and grateful glance to the woman that was saving her life, she closed her eyes and was momentarily sucked into the blank space of time.

* * *

><p>Kanae never did find out how Sumiko fared, but she assumed the worst.<p>

Once she reached home all of the search parties were informed of her return. It was the hardest thing she ever had to do, but she decided to not tell her family and her clan the truth of what happened to Ryo. She told them she learned that he had died on a mission. She knew peace with the Uchiha was going to be impossible if anyone ever knew what really happened the few days she was away, so she kept it locked up within herself like a tightly vaulted forbidden jutsu, intending that no one will ever come across the abhorrence of the truth.

When she was home, she was able to grieve freely and appropriately, in the privacy and comfort of her own quarters and not in some damned Uchiha holding cell. Everyone understood and let her be, for which she was eternally grateful.

* * *

><p>Kanae hoped it wouldn't end like this, but always had a feeling it would.<p>

She didn't ever..._ever_...want to get caught like she did when Ryo had died, but if she did, they wouldn't be taking her alive this time.

Her four man team were on a particularly difficult mission escorting a delegate from the Fire Daimyo's council to Lightening Country. He was expected to be attacked for extremely critical information that was being carried to the Lightening Daimyo. Kanae and her team had anticipated altercations with other shinobi, but not with Uchiha. The intel her team had received had conveyed the shinobi coming after the Daimyo representative was not supposed to be of the Uchiha, yet here they were.

After the ambassador was killed, Kanae's team captain ordered that she and the other two go on ahead to complete the mission while he stayed behind to delay (hopefully permanently) the Uchiha after them.

But there were too many. The group consisted of almost a platoon of shinobi. Kanae knew there was no way her team leader could fend them all off, and she was right, because it wasn't too long before they were being hunted and overrun.

Fight ensued and it was evident there was no chance of winning or escape. When she was surrounded, _again_, it was then she learned that they had been searching for her the whole time...ever since her escape from them before. Her current mission and the importance of it must have alerted them, and once they learned it was she who comprised of the team that was ordered to escort and protect the Fire Daimyo's associate, they pursued, not wanting the information, but _her_.

When Kanae saw them mercilessly toss her two dead comrades aside and start coming for her, before they could realize what she was going to do she made use of the special jutsu she learned in secret for just this occasion. She sped through the hand signs that would activate the jutsu that would completely obliterate her, the one her clan's special operatives were ordered to use if they were too badly injured to complete an important mission.

She saw comprehension on their faces and they scurried to reach her before the jutsu could take effect, but it was too late. Kanae did not feel afraid of death by suicide and her last thought was, _see you on the other side, Ryo._

* * *

><p><em>...<br>_


	8. Epilogue

Thanks to everyone who hopped on this ride! Hoped you enjoyed the story! I enjoyed writing it, despite its sad ending. Here's the Epilogue.

* * *

><p>Itachi woke with a hard jolt, sitting upright as if he'd been stuck with a taser.<p>

"Stop!" he yelled, holding his arm out, his instinct, in this case, to protect.

His voice echoed, bouncing back and forth against the cave walls, meeting nothing but stillness and emptiness. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he took a few moments to reconcile what he had been experiencing while unconscious with what was happening now.

"It's alright," a soft voice said from beside him. His head swiveled to find none other than Kanae kneeling just a few feet away. He blinked a few times, still attempting to link the emotions of what his visions had made him feel to the present. He remembered the last time he had "seen" her was when she self-destructed in an explosion of angry blue chakra, her final escape from the Uchiha clan...his clan. He also remembered when he last saw her in _his_ time; in his life she didn't appear to be real, only a mirage.

But now, she was as real as anyone could get. She was no longer enveloped in a veil of luminosity but was flesh and blood, another person sitting there with him. He even felt her signature, and was shocked to realize it was exactly the same as the one he "felt" in his sleep.

He stared unrelentingly into iridescent amber eyes. She chuckled lightly.

"I suppose I should have warned you of what I was going to do."

He must have looked shell-shocked. The wiring in his brain was still conducting signals and responses to everything that had happened and what was currently happening that he couldn't speak for a few moments, but eventually he found his voice.

"Kanae-hime," he choked out, and was surprised at the way he sounded: desperate, sorrowful, anxious, and almost pleading. "Were you aware-?" he began to ask, still attempting to formulate his thought processes to a little more than muddled, but had to pause. There were so many things he wanted to say and ask her. He swallowed thickly and started again. "Were you aware that the Uchiha clan is currently preparing to overthrow the Sandaime Hokage and usurp power in Konoha?"

She nodded dolefully. "Yes. I see everything that I want to see." She smiled a diffident but knowing smile. "I have seen how powerful the Senju and Uchiha clans had become over the years. Two of the most powerful. I saw how the ninja world was changing, transitioning into its own entity that wanted independence from the control of the Daimyos. I saw how the Senju and the Uchiha had finally come to the peace that had evaded them for so many years. My nephew, Senju Hashirama..." Her small smile grew into a grin of affection and pride. "...the Shodai Hokage of Konohakagure no Sato, the first ever shinobi village. Then Tobirama next as Nidaime-Hokage."

She stopped for a long moment, her attention diverted to her inner thoughts, then her smile slowly faded. "I saw the wars. I saw the highs of peace and prosperity to the lows of being in need." Here, her brows pulled down in an expression of pain and disappointment. "And I have seen the peace that the Uchiha thought they desired was short-lived." Her eyes were were both gentle and hard, glinting sterling in the dim light of the cave. Gentle because she knew of Itachi's dilemma and hard because of what the Uchiha were currently planning. Her sympathy won out over her vexation with his clan. She softly moved her hand across his brow, over his temple and down his cheek until she was tracing the distinct line of his jaw. Her caress was similar to his mother's, that of which she would have given him not so long ago. Lately, her kunoichi suspicions over his loyalty kept her motherly attentions at bay.

"What will you do?" Kanae asked softly.

That was the ultimate question, but adding the revelations of Kanae's experience Itachi was already starting to lean to one side.

"When I was four-years old, I witnessed the atrocities of war firsthand. What my clan plans to do will not only incite a civil war in Konoha but will undoubtedly be the catalyst for another shinobi war. The Fourth Shinobi War. I will do anything in my power to prevent such an occurrence. _Anything_."

The ferocity in Itachi's eyes and the austerity of his demeanor were so profound that Kanae eyes widened and she inhaled sharply. She already knew how strong the young shinobi was because she had seen it herself, but if she was clueless as to the extent of his talent this promulgation and the feelings behind it demonstrated exactly how strong.

He looked at her pointedly. "And if the Uchiha are incapable of standing down or compromising, then there is only one option."

Kanae sat in thought for a few moments. "This is merely coincidental," she stated evenly, gesturing between the two of them. "I didn't mean to further exacerbate the situation you're in."

Itachi nodded. "I assumed as much. You have perfect timing." A corner of his mouth tilted in an ironic smirk.

The way she was facing had part of her body in shadow, but when she adjusted her position, Itachi caught a certain gleam off of Kanae's collarbone. She noticed his eyes cast downward and knew exactly what caught his attention. The fingers of one of her hands automatically touched the three rings of the necklace Ryosuki had given her. Itachi continued to stare, half transfixed and half in distracted thought. Kanae reached behind her, unclasped the metal chain and held it out for him. His eyes shot up to hers, asking _are you sure?_

"Please," she insisted, taking one of his hands, placing the necklace into his palm, her fingers closing over his. "I know that Ryo would want this, too."

Itachi had to swallow hard to avoid tearing up. To further occupy himself from an emotional display, he observed the piece of jewelry, slightly twisting it this way and that before placing it on himself. He looked up at Kanae but before he could open his mouth she spoke.

"There is no need for you to continue your mission. It was fabricated so I could lure you into my trap." She smiled mischievously.

Itachi stared expressionlessly at the princess. "A fake mission, huh?"

Kanae smiled wider, unashamed. Itachi wondered what kind of jutsu she used and how she pulled it off, but decided not to ask.

He stood up, and after holding a hand out to help Kanae get to her feet, they walked toward the entrance to the cave side-by-side.

"You know, I was supposed to receive a considerable amount of compensation for-" Itachi started to say, feigning irritation, but then was interrupted by a feeling...or more accurately not feeling. They had reached the end of the cave and were at the threshold when Kanae's chakra signature suddenly disappeared. When Itachi turned to the place the Senju princess was standing, she was gone.

* * *

><p>Because he was Itachi and he <em>never <em>disobeyed an order, when he got home he went straight to the Hokage. It was daytime and Itachi assumed he had been "asleep" for less than twelve hours, but when Sarutobi-sama expressed confusion at Itachi's inquiry of his fake mission and learned that he had been gone from the village for over two days Itachi was in shock.

"Your last mission was very difficult. I thought you left the village for a little R&R," Hiruzen commented from his desk, not looking at Itachi but perusing through some scrolls.

When Itachi didn't reply the Sandaime finally looked up. "Are you well, son?"

Itachi wondered how he looked. Probably confused and surprised. He nodded mechanically. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

On the journey home Itachi decided he wanted to do a little investigation. He did not doubt any of what Kanae showed him in the slightest, but the research he was about to conduct would bring a lot of doubt to the already growing pile he had for his clan.

He went straight to the Konoha Military Police Headquarters. To get by undetected he performed a teleportation jutsu into the basement of the building. The Uchiha started to make it a habit, along with the endless case files, to store the annals of the Uchiha in the bowels of the building. Only Uchihas could enter that sealed room, and after forming the hand signs, Itachi entered and closed the door, resealing himself inside. He did not want to be disturbed.

For several hours he sifted through the heavily dusted manuscripts, from fifty-years before the founding to Konoha all the way until the record of his father's birth. Going that far forward was unnecessary, but he did it anyway - twice - because Uchiha Ryosuki was nowhere to be found. There was no record of his birth.

Besides Kanae's jutsu and now his memories, there was only one other place Itachi thought he could find some form of existence of Ryosuki. Later that night when most of the Uchiha district was asleep, he went to the Naka Shrine. In the main hall, beneath the seventh mat on the far right side, Itachi slipped through the trap door. He lit a candle in the stairwell and proceeded to the bottom. After a few more hand signs to unseal a barrier jutsu, he slipped into the tablet room. All of this was unnecessary as well, because as soon as he had activated his sharingan his father had shown him access to this special place and he had read the inscriptions on the stone many times. But he had to be absolutely certain.

After meticulously looking it over three times, Itachi hung his head and let out a sigh of frustration and resignation. Nothing. His clan deliberately kept that little piece of history a secret until those that knew died with the knowledge. If it wasn't for Kanae, Itachi would have remained ignorant forever, too. He wondered what other indiscretions his clan kept hidden.

Itachi found Kanae's, once Ryosuki's, now his, necklace and ran his fingers along the chain, coming in contact with each metal ring. This...this was proof enough.

* * *

><p>Itachi knew it would come to this, even before all of the discussions of what was to be done about his clan ever concluded. While a part of him was sickened with having been tasked with taking out his entire clan, sans Sasuke, another part of him felt wholly justified with the act. Then another part was terrified of the aftermath. He would have to leave Konoha, his beloved home, permanently. But it was all for the sake of peace, and for that it was worth it.<p>

* * *

><p>"State your purpose," Itachi commanded. He knew the masked man that had infiltrated the village was aware of his presence before he even spoke.<p>

Uchiha Madara, coming back to Konoha for vengeance against the Uchiha and the village. Itachi wasn't sure if this coincidental meeting was fortunate or unfortunate, but he made a truce with him. He was to help Itachi take out the Uchiha in exchange for sparing the village. Madara readily complied.

* * *

><p>"There is a place for you in Akatsuki. Konoha has abandoned you, threw you to the wolves."<p>

Itachi didn't look at it that way exactly, but the crux of the matter was Itachi now had no home and would be considered a missing nin. He needed stability, shelter and protection, just long enough for Sasuke to come after him. He nodded in acknowledgement to Madara's words.

"Come. Now your training does not have to continue in such a clandestine manner. You will be a great asset to helping Akatsuki achieve its goals."

And Itachi's resolution, based on his own philosophical ideals of pacifism, his love for his brother, his love for Konoha, for the justice of one Senju princess whose life was cut short, and for a long-ago descendant whose heart-breaking story was never told, he removed the cancerous spread of the Uchiha and vowed to himself that as long as he lived he would affiliate with the Akatsuki to keep Konoha safe.

* * *

><p>The End<p> 


End file.
